Fabián Ruiz scored two goals as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) went up by three goals in the first 24 minutes and vanquished Real Madrid 4-0 to advance to the Club World Cup final against Chelsea.
Ruiz scored in the sixth minute and Ousmane Dembélé in the ninth, courtesy the glaring lapses by defenders Raúl Asencio and Antonio Rüdiger. Ruiz soon extended his team’s lead to 3-0. Gonçalo Ramos scored another goal in the 87th to complete the 4-0 rout.
Coming into this championship after clinching their first European title, PSG will be looking to lift the Club World Cup in the final on Sunday.
Real Madrid played almost as poorly as Inter Milan, who were blanked by PSG 5-0 in the Champions League final. The 15-time European champion looked lacklustre after travelling to Florida for training between games, which was evident from the fact that PSG had 76.5% possession in the first half. Real's Kylian Mbappé was no threat in his first game against his former team. Luka Modric entered in the 64th minute in what could be his last match for Madrid, the team he has represented since 2012.
PSG raced ahead after Lucas Beraldo’s cross was mishit by Raúl Asencio, Thibaut Courtois tipped the ball from Dembélé and Ruiz hit it into the empty net. Dembélé then took possession about 40 yards out after a Rüdiger mis-hit, dribbled and went past Courtois.
PSG again rallied to cover the entire length of the field and 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 at the Club World Cup. Real Madrid missed Dean Huijsen, who got a red card on Saturday against Borussia Dortmund, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who had muscle discomfort in his right leg. “It's a painful defeat. We were not up to standard today,” Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said.
“We have always said that the collective work by the players is what’s helping us,” said Fabián Ruiz, who scored twice as PSG built a three-goal lead in the first 24 minutes. “We are a great group, a young group that is working well,” he said.
“This is the first match in this World Cup that we can use Usman as a normal player," PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “I think he is the best player this season by a long term and I think he deserves to win everything because he gave everything to the team and the team is going to achieve trophies, which is the most important thing for a club,” he said.
PSG have outscored opponents 16-1 in six matches, with three goals from Ruiz, two each from Dembele, Hakimi and João Neves, and one apiece from Doué, Lee Kang-in, Kvaratskhelia, Mayulu, Ramos and Vitinha. They have not allowed a goal since a 1-0 loss to Botofogo in their second group-stage match.
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