EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Fabián Ruiz scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain built a three-goal lead in the first 24 minutes and routed Real Madrid 4-0 on Wednesday, advancing to the Club World Cup final against Chelsea.
Ruiz scored in the sixth minute and Ousmane Dembélé in the ninth following glaring mistakes by defenders Raúl Asencio and Antonio Rüdiger, and Ruiz made it 3-0 to cap a counter. Gonçalo Ramos added a goal in the 87th.
Coming off its first European title, PSG plays for the championship on Sunday.
Real fared no better than Inter Milan, overrun by PSG 5-0 in the Champions League final. The 15-time European champion looked sluggish after traveling to Florida for training between games, and PSG had 76.5% possession in the first half.
A crowd of 77,542 was at MetLife Stadium on a scorching day with a temperature of 91 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) at kickoff and humidity that made it feel like 101 (38).
Real’s Kylian Mbappe was not a threat in his first game against his former team.
Luka Modrić entered in the 64th in likely his last match for Madrid, his team since 2012. Éder Militão came in at the same time in his first game since tearing his right ACL on Nov. 9.
PSG surged ahead after Lucas Beraldo’s cross was mis-hit by Raúl Asencio, Thibaut Courtois tipped the ball from Dembélé and Ruiz slammed it into the empty net.
Dembélé then took possession about 40 yards out after a Rüdiger mis-hit, dribbled and slotted past Courtois.
PSG went the length of the field to make it 3-0. Hakimi exchanged passes with Dembélé, then crossed for Ruiz, who maintained control despite Federico Valverde’s challenge and scored from 8 yards for his third goal of the tournament.
Key moment
Madrid’s defense was missing Dean Huijsen, who got a red card Saturday against Borussia Dortmund, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who had right leg muscle discomfort.
Takeaways
Paris Saint-Germain has earned $88,435,000 to $113,815,000 for reaching the final, the amount depending on a participation fee.
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Great Job Ronald Blum, Associated Press & the Team @ KSAT San Antonio Source link for sharing this story.
