Seattle Sounders 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain: European champions through to knockout stages | OneFootball

Paris Saint-Germain secured their place in the round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup, with a convincing 2-0 win against Seattle Sounders.

The breakthrough came in the 35th minute of the game. A Nuno Mendes corner was cleared by Seattle defender Jackson Ragen, only to find the path of PSG midfielder Vitinha. He hit a side-foot shot from the edge of the box, which deflected off the back of winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to give PSG the lead.

The sides went into half-time with PSG leading by a goal, and Seattle having it all to do. The second half picked up from the same tempo as the first, with PSG continuing to dominate. In the 67th minute, substitute Bradley Barcola broke away from Seattle’s defence to play a square ball to Achraf Hakimi, who placed his shot past Stefan Frei to put his side 2-0 up.

Despite Seattle bringing on Georgi Minoungou and Jordan Morris to inject pace into the game, they were unable to find a breakthrough, and the match finished 2-0 to Les Parisiens. They go through in first position, alongside Botafogo in 2nd place to the knockout rounds.

As it happened

The game was a must-win for both sides, given the tight standings of the group going into the game. PSG needed to win to be sure of qualification after they were upset by Botafogo 1-0 in their last match. Seattle had the difficult task of needing to beat PSG by three clear goals to have any chance of progressing.

With that in mind, there was quite the atmosphere at Lumen Field in Seattle, home to the Sounders as the game started. Their fans knew the immense task that was at hand, and they got behind their side from the get-go.

Seattle looked to use their aerial prowess from set pieces early on. Albert Rusnák’s deep free-kick found the head of Ragen in the 10th minute, whose header brushed past Gianluigi Donnarumma’s goal.

PSG then grew into the game, as wingers Désiré Doué and Kvaratskhelia both had chances cutting in from the left, which were comfortably saved by Seattle keeper Frei.

Then, in what was Seattle’s best chance of the game, Donnarumma made an error trying to dribble the ball outside his box, gifting the ball to Paul Rothrock, who set up Jesús Ferreira, only for the striker to hit the ball over from a wide angle, with the goal gaping.

Seattle were then made to pay, as PSG controlled possession from then on, then finding their breakthrough from a corner, which saw Vitinha’s shot defect off Kvaratskhelia, giving the European champions take the lead. Seattle struggled to get a foothold in the game, as PSG imposed their dominance as the referee brought the first half to a close.

The second half started slowly, as PSG continued to maintain their control and Seattle were subsequently made short of clear-cut chances. Manager Luis Enrique replaced Kvaratskhelia with Barcola early in the second half, with his directness and pace proving enough to seal the game. Seattle struggled to manage his surges in pace, and in the 65th minute he got past Roldan to square it to Morocco international Hakimi, who secured the decisive second goal for PSG.

Seattle made changes which brought a spark to their play, including Ivorian winger Minoungou, whose skilful and direct approach brought a spark to their attacking play. Late in the game, they brought on their record goal-scorer Jordan Morris, who nearly found a breakthrough in the 85th minute. He displayed good footwork to beat defender Willian Pacho before his sliding shot was blocked by Marquinhos past Donnarumma’s goal.

PSG held out to secure a 2-0 win which sees them through to place the 2nd place team in Group A. Seattle Sounders bow out of the tournament, winless from three.

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