EAST RUTHERFORD: Paris St Germain’s Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz scored twice in a devastating first-half display as the French champions demolished Real Madrid 4-0 on Wednesday to book their place in the Club World Cup final against Chelsea.
Two defensive errors handed PSG their opening goals within nine minutes at MetLife Stadium.
Raul Asencio’s poor control in the sixth minute gifted Ousmane Dembele possession and his first effort was saved by Thibaut Courtois before the rebound was picked up by Ruiz who scored into an empty net.
Antonio Ruediger’s miskick as he attempted to pass three minutes later allowed Dembele to burst unmarked into the box before firing a tidy finish past Courtois.
Ruiz struck again in the 24th minute after Achraf Hakimi made a great run down the right and the Spaniard held off defender Raul Asencio with a feint before finishing perfectly from close range.
Substitute Goncalo Ramos completed the rout for European champions PSG three minutes from time, punishing a feeble Real Madrid side who failed to pose any attacking threat.
“It was an incredible match, brilliant win,” player of the match Ruiz told DAZN.
“Even under scorching heat, such difficult conditions to play in midday, the team responded really well and it’s an achievement to be proud of.
“We made a perfect game and beat a top-level rival like Real Madrid in a great way. It’s job well done.”
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Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso’s tactical gamble backfired spectacularly. Missing suspended defender Dean Huijsen and injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alonso abandoned the five-man defence that had served them well in previous rounds, reverting to a four-man backline that proved woefully inadequate against PSG’s attacking prowess.
PSG, who thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final last month, smelled blood from the opening whistle and never relented against opponents who looked clueless on how to approach Gianluigi Donnarumma’s goal even with French forward Kylian Mbappe back in the starting side after illness.
Dembele almost scored in the fourth minute with a curling strike from inside the box that Courtois stopped with a brilliant one-handed save before the keeper produced another stunning reflex block from a close-range strike by Ruiz.
But there was nothing he could do to deny PSG from opening a three-goal lead and the French team had more chances to extend their advantage further before the break.
Real made no changes at halftime and PSG stayed in control, with Desire Doue having a goal ruled out for an offside.
The Spanish side never came close to causing Donnarumma a serious problem and Ramos added a fourth goal for PSG.
“At the beginning, the setback was strong enough with a 2-0 down. We knew that the task was really tough,” Real coach Alonso told DAZN.
“At the moment, the feeling is not the best, but we’ll have to try to learn from today. They are a team that has been built in two years and we are just starting here, so it will take time.
“Right now what we need is a proper break. This is not the beginning of next year, this is just the end of this season. After just three weeks here, I think that we can take positives from this period, not from today. We take lessons from today.”
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