PLAYER RATINGS | PSG 4-0 Inter Miami: European champions sweep aside Lionel Messi’s side in Club World Cup | OneFootball

FIFA Club World Cup, Round of 16, 29/06/25

Paris Saint-Germain comfortably beat Inter Miami (4-0) to progress to the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup. Against his former side, Lionel Messi’s adventure in the competition ended in Atlanta.

The Match

The writing was on the wall just four minutes in as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with ease, dribbled past the Inter Miami defence, taking out three players, and feeding Bradley Barcola. The Frenchman should have scored but saw his shot blocked by Oscar Ustari. PSG cut through this MLS side with ease, time after time, and it was only two minutes later that they got the opener. Completely unmarked, João Neves met Vitinha’s free-kick at the back-post, with the diminutive Portuguese midfielder heading home. Luis Suaréz looked indignant. His mood would progressively worsen as the gulf in class between the two sides became increasingly evident.

Kvaratskhelia went close on two occasions, Barcola should have been more selfish to take his half-chances on occasions, and Achraf Hakimi went close with a driven effort inside a crowded box. A relative lack of efficiency kept the deficit to just one as half-time approached. But Javier Mascherano’s side were ruthlessly dispatched in a nine-minute period leading up to the break.

Neves got the second as Ruiz pounced in midfield, finding Barcola, who once again fed the Spaniard, making a run around the outside. Ruiz then calmly played it across to Neves to slot into the empty net. PSG’s third came courtesy of a Tomás Avilés own goal. The Argentine, who struggled off the bench, was on the blindside of Ruiz, who missed Désiré Doué’s driven cross. He was caught unawares as he deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper.

Barcola was once again (too) unselfish, setting up Hakimi, whose initial effort was deflected twice onto the crossbar. The rebound fell kindly, and he calmly slotted home.

PSG have often practiced walking football during this tournament, a means of dealing with the scorching temperatures experienced during this tournament. Such management was not needed in the air-conditioned stadium in Atlanta. The slowing of the tempo was by choice as Luis Enrique’s men took their foot off the pedal upon the return from the dressing room.

Inter Miami grew into the game with Suárez fluffing his lines after a sublime volleyed ball over the top from Messi. But the MLS side were kept at arm’s length. PSG had chances of their own, notably through  Barcola, but they were squandered.

PSG didn’t add to the scoreline, but that didn’t even look like a priority as some key players (Marquinhos, Ruiz) got a rest in the second half and Ousmane Dembélé, returning from injury, got his first minutes of the tournament. Now in the quarter-finals, his return could be decisive as PSG look to go from European champions to world champions.

PSG player ratings

Gianluigi Donnarumma – 6

Nuno Mendes – 6

Willian Pacho – 5

Marquinhos – 6

A good distributor from the back, he wasn’t tested defensively but was strong in his long-range passing, finding wingers in dangerous positions. He was replaced by Lucas Beraldo (4) at the break.

Achraf Hakimi – 7

Fabián Ruiz – 6

Replaced by Warren Zaïre-Emery (4) at half-time.

João Neves – 8

A well-taken brace, the first of his career, was a just reward for a strong performance in the midfield. He was tiy (95% pass accuracy from 57 passes) and combative, winning both of his duels. Given the time and space to play his game, it allowed the Portugal international to display his skillset.

Vitinha – 7

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – 7

Désiré Doué – 4

So often a joy to watch, he has blown more cold than hot during this Club World Cup. His performances have fallen short of those displayed during the latter stages of the Champions League, when his technical prowess really came to the fore. Doué’s issue is in part positional; he did not look at ease in the false No.9 role. But there is an element of having to learn simplicity. He was culpable, again, of complicating things when a simple lay-off was needed. To his credit, he is always looking to get on the ball and make things happen, which, intermittently, he still managed to do.

Bradley Barcola – 5

Inter Miami selected player ratings

Lionel Messi – 6

He had that sublime Messi moment, dinking a sublime ball over the top. His class now only shows intermittently, but against his former club, PSG, he showed flashes of the Messi of old. What limited him more than anything was the lack of options at his disposal in the moments he got on the ball. Better support would have drastically increased his influence on the encounter.

Luis Suárez – 2

He failed to provide a focal point, preventing Inter Miami from gaining a foothold. From the sixth minute, he showed frustration, which took the form of a string of needless fouls and – eventually – a yellow card. He fluffed Inter Miami’s best chance, failing to control Messi’s sublime ball over the top.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle