PSG are out of this world, as Real Madrid are brought back down to it

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Paris Saint-Germain volition look Chelsea successful the FIFA Club World Cup last connected Sunday aft blowing Real Madrid distant successful a 4-0 semifinal win successful New Jersey that could, and should, person ended successful an ever bigger humiliation for the LaLiga team.

UEFA Champions League winners PSG were 3-0 up aft conscionable 24 minutes with 2 goals from Fabián Ruiz and an Ousmane Dembélé onslaught putting the crippled beyond a woeful Madrid side.

But it needed 2 stunning saves by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and immoderate atrocious misses by PSG to support the scoreline respectable for the 15-time European champions until Gonçalo Ramos scored a deserved 4th for Luis Enrique's squad successful the 87th minute.

Kylian Mbappé, starting his archetypal crippled of the tournament, failed to marque an interaction against his erstwhile squad who are present conscionable 1 triumph distant from adding a satellite rubric their treble of Champions League, Coupe de France and Ligue 1 rubric past season. -- Mark Ogden

PSG approaching Barcelona levels of greatness

Pep Guardiola's two-time Champions League-winning Barcelona squad is regarded arsenic the champion nine broadside the crippled has ever seen, but Luis Enrique's Paris Saint-Germain present merit to beryllium successful the speech astir the greatest.

Longevity is perfectly important erstwhile judging the champion and, close now, that's wherever Barcelona person the edge, but marque nary mistake, this PSG squad has each the elements to beryllium considered arsenic bully arsenic the large Barça.

Guardiola's Barcelona possessed a world-class midfield of Xavi, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta and though the genius of Lionel Messi elevated them to different level, it was that midfield axis that controlled games and made it intolerable for opponents to get the ball.

But PSG's midfield of Vitinha, João Neves and Ruiz, an often-underestimated subordinate who scored doubly against Madrid, does the aforesaid occupation arsenic the Barça midfield and they utterly dominated against Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Arda Güler.

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson erstwhile said that Barcelona bushed teams with their "passing carousel" and that is besides what PSG do.

But here's the happening with PSG. Barça had the genius of Messi, but PSG are a corporate of superb individuals who play arsenic a squad and enactment truthful overmuch harder than their opponents. At half-time, FIFA stats showed that Real's mean shot betterment clip was 45 seconds. PSG's fig was 23 seconds, astir doubly arsenic accelerated than Real's.

They person large players, but they enactment for it excessively and that's wherefore PSG are the champion squad successful the satellite and perchance the champion it has ever seen. -- Ogden

This was the incorrect place, incorrect clip for Xabi Alonso to experiment

New coach, caller play (well, technically extremity of aged season), aforesaid aged issues. There's nary crushed to truly overcomplicate this.

Vinícius Júnior and Mbappé whitethorn beryllium among the champion forwards successful the world, but deploying them unneurotic connected the transportation against a prime broadside (and adjacent against immoderate mediocre ones) is simply a large headache. They thin to drift into the aforesaid positions (no substance wherever they commencement out) and neither has the aptitude (or, you suspect, the will) to way backmost and enactment disconnected the ball.

Against the European champions you tin get distant with 1 feline who doesn't tally erstwhile not successful possession.

Deploying a due center-forward (Gonzalo García), playing Vinícius connected the other flank wherever helium can't travel wrong connected his favored foot, pushing some Bellingham and Arda Güler into the No. 8 presumption -- erstwhile you bash each that, what was a agelong changeable abruptly becomes a PowerBall ticket.

Doing it with 2 is nigh connected impossible, and trying to get distant with it with the set-up manager Xabi Alonso opted to usage connected Wednesday is particularly intolerable (if there's specified a thing). Deploying a due center-forward (Gonzalo García), playing Vinícius connected the other flank wherever helium can't travel wrong connected his favored foot, pushing some Bellingham and Arda Güler into the No. 8 presumption -- erstwhile you bash each that, what was a agelong changeable abruptly becomes a PowerBall ticket.

Having Gonzalo lumber astir aft Vitinha portion Vinícius and Mbappé basal astir gave PSG a wide tally into midfield and felt peculiarly silly erstwhile you're up against arguably the champion fullback combo successful the satellite successful Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes. Once successful the middle, Güler (who, lest we forget, is inactive learning the position) and Bellingham (who successful his caput is simply a No.10, which is the presumption helium played astir of the past 2 seasons) were overrun by PSG's balling trio of Vitinha, Neves and Ruiz.

Maybe Alonso was trying to beryllium a point: this squad is inactive severely assembled. Or possibly helium treated this similar a pre-season friendly, a spot to experiment. (Confirmed: it wasn't.)

He comes with a estimation arsenic a strategy manager and it's intolerable to spot however these cogs tin beryllium enactment unneurotic into a machine, overmuch little a system. Especially erstwhile you're not going to person that overmuch clip connected the grooming transportation erstwhile the play gets going. And where, dissimilar Bayer Leverkusen, you're connected the biggest signifier of each and you're not omnipotent wrong the nine walls. -- Marcotti

Dembélé takes immense stride towards Ballon d'Or

Dembélé went into the Club World Cup arsenic favourite to triumph this year's Ballon d'Or, but determination was not overmuch betwixt the PSG guardant and Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal. Yet Dembélé had the vantage of his level astatine the Club World Cup to seal the woody and helium surely did that with his show successful this crippled against Real Madrid.

He took his extremity tally for the tourney to 2 goals aft pouncing connected a mistake by Antonio Rüdiger and past racing wide to coolly people past goalkeeper Courtois, but Dembélé is astir much than conscionable goals.

He creates excessively -- helium teed up Ruiz's for PSG's opener -- and stretches teams with his gait and question and helium is present a overmuch much rounded subordinate than during his injury-hit spell with Barcelona.

At 28, Dembélé is astatine the highest of his powers and it volition beryllium a astonishment if helium doesn't win Manchester City's Rodri arsenic the holder of the Ballon d'Or erstwhile it is awarded successful Paris successful September.

PSG manager Luis Enrique substituted Dembélé connected 59 minutes, intelligibly redeeming his vigor levels for Sunday's Club World Cup last against Chelsea. And if PSG triumph that one, Dembélé volition person the Ballon d'Or successful the bag. -- Ogden

Real Madrid's baffling defending

There's a parallel beingness wherever Dean Huijsen doesn't get sent disconnected for needlessly pulling down Serhou Guirassy with Real Madrid 3-1 up successful the sixth infinitesimal of wounded clip against Borussia Dortmund. In that parallel universe, helium doesn't get suspended and starts against PSG alongside Rüdiger, with Raúl Asencio sliding implicit to close backmost and Federico Valverde slotting into midfield.

Would it person been capable to halt this unplayable PSG? Maybe not, but you ideate it would person been little of an embarrassment than what we saw. And portion Real Madrid's defence volition get slaughtered by the media, let's retrieve the papier-mâché midfield they had successful beforehand of them. And the information that Trent Alexander-Arnold wasn't determination (OK, not a antiaircraft titan, but neither is Valverde erstwhile helium plays close back) and that Éder Militão is not yet afloat fit. And, astir of all, that Huijsen outgo himself a spot successful this game.

Real Madrid's backmost 4 won't look similar what you saw connected Wednesday. They volition beryllium a batch better. They person to be. -- Marcotti

A farewell to Modric, 1 of the club's champion ever

And so, aft 13 years, 597 games, 43 goals, 4 Liga titles, 2 Copas del Rey, six Champions League crowns and a clump of lesser silverware helium astir apt doesn't person country for successful his trophy cabinet, the prima sets connected Luka Modric's Real Madrid career.

That it should successful decision astir apt shouldn't beryllium a surprise. When your last tourney is of the knockout variety, likelihood are your past crippled volition beryllium a loss. But to spell retired this way, with this benignant of humiliation, has to hurt. The information helium was lone connected the transportation for 26 minutes positive wounded clip doesn't truly blunt the symptom either.

A much respectable decision mightiness person prompted the benignant of odes and farewells Modric's vocation successful Madrid deserves. Instead, we'll get inquest. Such is the mode of the nine and Madridismo. But that volition pass. And folks volition spell backmost to remembering and cherishing possibly the top midfielder who has worn the achromatic garment since the days of Zinedine Zidane. -- Marcotti