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PSG rout Messi's Miami, Bayern through to Club World Cup quarters

PSG rout Messi's Miami, Bayern through to Club World Cup quarters

Khaleej Timesa day ago
Paris Saint-Germain steamrollered Lionel Messi's Inter Miami 4-0 to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, where they will face Bayern Munich after they overcame a spirited Flamengo side.
The German giants defeated the Brazilians 4-2 in Sunday's other last 16 clash with a brace from Harry Kane, after the European champions proved far too strong for Miami's cast of ageing stars.
Miami hoped Messi's magic could help them produce an unlikely result against the Argentine star's former club, but the Major League Soccer side were dismantled by Luis Enrique's rampant team.
Messi and his former Barcelona team-mates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba had done well to reach the last 16 but the gulf in quality between the teams was laid bare in Atlanta.
Joao Neves netted twice for PSG, who benefited from a Tomas Aviles own goal, while Achraf Hakimi was also on target for the treble-winners.
"Clearly, we are experiencing a historic season for our club, we aim to go far in this competition," said Luis Enrique.
Messi was the main draw, as fans chanted his name and most of the 66,000 crowd were clad in Miami's hot pink, interspersed with Argentina shirts.
PSG dominated from the start and took the lead when Neves nodded in unmarked at the back post from a free-kick.
With the Ligue 1 champions pressing high and keeping possession Javier Mascherano's Miami found it hard to get Messi involved. The 38-year-old's intermittent interventions were not enough to hold back the Parisian tide.
PSG doubled their lead in the 39th minute when veteran holding midfielder Busquets got his footwork wrong, with Ruiz stealing the ball and combining with Barcola to set up Neves again.
"He played a very good game... in this team everyone can score and make decisive contributions," said Dembele.
Aviles then deflected Desire Doue's cross into his own net, and Hakimi netted the fourth before half-time to put PSG out of sight.
Eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi produced a brilliant pass for Suarez early in the second half, but the Uruguayan could not finish to offer Miami a lifeline.
Despite the impossibility of a comeback Messi seemed determined to bow out with a bang.
When Suarez was fouled on the edge of the box Messi had the chance to repeat his free-kick winner against Porto in the group stage, but his effort hit the wall.
Luis Enrique sent on winger Ousmane Dembele for his first appearance at the tournament after a hamstring injury, but the Frenchman looked rusty and PSG could not expand their advantage.
Miami's second-half performance was respectable and the defeat was by a lesser margin than the French side's 5-0 Champions League final thrashing of Inter Milan.
"I think we were above the expectations people had for us (at the tournament)... obviously we were facing the best team in the world playing football right now, so it was difficult," said Alba.
Bayern 'can beat anyone'
Kane produced two lethal finishes as Bayern beat out Filipe Luis' Flamengo side backed by a passionate following at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
"It's going to be another tough game — PSG have had an amazing season," said England international Kane.
"We played them earlier in the year and we came out on top.
"We know it's going to be difficult but we can beat anyone when we're at our level, we've shown that in the tournament so far."
Erick Pulgar headed Joshua Kimmich's corner into his own net and then Kane's deflected drive flew into the bottom corner as Bayern took a two-goal lead.
The three-times Copa Libertadores champions battled back in as Gerson smashed a shot past Manuel Neuer to delight most of the 61,000 crowd.
Leon Goretzka restored Bayern's lead but former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho pegged them back once more from the penalty spot.
Kane settled the contest with a fine touch and finish to set up the quarter-final clash against PSG.
"We have to rest now, recover from this game, use every single day we've got to rebuild our energy," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.
"Then what more do you want? Top top sides playing each other on the biggest stage — we'll be ready for that."
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