Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Real Madrid: European champions cruise into Club World Cup final after masterclass

Paris Saint-Germain reached the final of the Club World Cup after producing a first-half footballing masterclass against Real Madrid in New Jersey.

Three goals in 18 devastating first-half minutes, followed by fourth three minutes from the end, were enough for the European champions to see off their Spanish opponents in utterly convincing fashion.

Fabian Ruiz scored twice, while Ousmane Dembele and Goncalo Ramos also found the net as Luis Enrique’s team showed exactly why they are the best club side in Europe right now.

For Real, who did little to aid their plight after gifting two early goals to the Ligue 1 winners, it was a rather brutal lesson in the level new head coach Xabi Alonso will need his players to reach if they are to compete in this new era of PSG dominance.

IN THE WORLD CUP FINAL!#PSGREAL I #FIFACWC pic.twitter.com/THMn1tW31U

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) July 9, 2025

How the action unfolded

Kylian Mbappe, facing PSG for the first time since leaving the club 12 months ago, wiped out a camera operator with a wayward shot during the warm-up.

In hindsight, Mbappe may have regretted not taking out every camera inside the MetLife Stadium to eradicate all trace of a first-half in which Real Madrid were wholly dismantled by their French opposition.

Less than five minutes in, the storm clouds were already forming over Alonso’s side, with his goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois being called upon to produce a world-class save early on.

Given the extensive star-quality on show, it was deeply ironic – and perhaps a little amusing – that the PSG’s first two goals goals should come from rudimentary errors that would not look out of place on a Sunday League pitch.

First Raul Asencio dallied on the ball in his own box, allowing Dembele to steal in and prod across to a lurking Ruiz to gratefully tap home.

Then, just moments later, Antonio Rudiger’s total miskick enabled Dembele to race clear and the speedy Frenchman made no mistake, stroking the ball past Courtois to double the European champions’ advantage.

In the space on just three first-half minutes, Real were staring both elimination and humiliation in the face, a feeling compounded by the fact that PSG have not lost a game this season in which Dembele has found the net.

And it would soon get even worse. In the 25th minute, another incisive PSG move culminated in Achraf Hakimi rolling the ball across to Ruiz who took on touch before arrowing an effort into the bottom corner.

24′ PSG 3-0!!! ⚽️⚽️⚽️

Ruiz nets his second of the game with a clinical finish on a lightning-fast counter. 🔴🔵⚡

Watch the @FIFACWC | June 14 – July 13 | Every Game | Free | https://t.co/i0K4eUtwwb | #FIFACWC #TakeItToTheWorld #PSGRMA pic.twitter.com/JIl1nunRhN

— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) July 9, 2025

The PSG confidence was oozing; the Real frustrations hard to contain. Aurelien Tchouameni picked up a booking for clattering Hakimi in a rather apt display of how Los Blancos were feeling.

The water break on the half-hour mark felt like an act of mercy for Madrid. But it proved little more than momentary respite; a short breather from a seemingly relentless onslaught.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia drove a fierce strike just inches past the post before both Nuno Mendes and Dembele tested the reactions of Courtois.

After the break, it was much of the same. Madrid escaped further punishment when, just three minutes after the restart, Desire Doue’s goal was chalked off for offside.

Luka Modric was then thrown on for his final minutes as a Los Blancos player. For the veteran Croatian, who will head to AC Milan this summer following 13 years at the Bernabeu, it felt like an unfitting end for one of the greats of the modern game.

For PSG, meanwhile, it was, by this point, a case of resting legs for Sunday’s final. And it was one of those introduced, Ramos, who provided the icing on the Parisian cake three minutes from time, swivelling in the box to rifle home to add sheen to an already-impressive scoreline.

In the end, Madrid were put out of their misery, while the PSG train just keeps on rolling, with little sign of stopping.

Only Chelsea now stand in the way of the European champions becoming champions of the world.

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