PSG cruises past Atletico, Bayern clobbers Auckland

LOS ANGELES — Paris Saint-Germain laid down an ominous marker on its march toward global domination at the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday, while Bayern Munich showed no mercy to Auckland's amateurs with a ruthless 10-0 walloping.

The first full day of action at the inaugural edition of the 32-team club tournament saw newly crowned European champion PSG produce a scintillating 4-0 rout of Atletico Madrid after Bayern's double-digit drubbing of Auckland City.

The New Zealand minnow is one of the Cinderella stories of the tournament, made up of amateur players who had to take unpaid leave to travel to the United States.

But, Bundesliga Goliath Bayern was in no mood to indulge the Davids from the Oceania region, and duly ran riot in Cincinnati.

Jamal Musiala scored a second-half hat-trick after coming off the bench, while Kingsley Coman, Michael Olise and Thomas Muller all netted twice.

Sacha Boey scored the other goal in a Group C game that amounted to target practice for Bayern, who will face tougher tests ahead in the tournament against Boca Juniors and Benfica.

"We have to remain modest, but it was important to be able to say that we took the game seriously," said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany.

"It was a good first match at the tournament, but, of course, challenges are going to grow and it's going to become more difficult."

Auckland's interim coach Ivan Vicelich admitted that his team had run into the "reality of football against one of the world's top teams".

"It is a dream for players coming from an amateur level to play in this environment," Vicelich said.

"We knew it was going to be a very difficult game, playing against one of the top teams in the world, potentially one of the favorites for the Club World Cup, so we are just really proud of the players' efforts."

PSG 'hungry' for victory

While Bayern was left satisfied with its clinical opening, PSG delivered a statement win over Atletico in front of an 80,619 crowd at a sunbaked Pasadena Rose Bowl — the venue of the 1994 World Cup final.

The French champion shrugged off searing heat — temperatures reached 31 C shortly after the midday kickoff — to produce the kind of adventurous, attacking display that became its calling card en route to its dazzling Champions League triumph earlier this month.

Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha gave PSG a 2-0 lead by halftime, before Senny Mayulu and Lee Kang-in sealed an impressive Group B win with late goals against an Atletico team that struggled to cope with the French side's multi-faceted attack.

PSG is bidding to crown a superb season, which saw it win four trophies at home and in Europe, with a fifth title.

On Sunday's evidence, few would bet against Luis Enrique's side from being crowned world champion.

"We had the objective of making history this season, but this is a new chapter," Enrique said in his post-match news conference.

"It's a nice challenge for the players and the team, to want to keep winning.

"The club is hungry, the fans are hungry, the players and the team are hungry, and that's a good feeling. We have the same objective as in other competitions, which is to go as far as possible and try to win it."

Atletico manager Diego Simeone refused to cite the heat as a factor in his team's defeat.

"I cannot blame it on the heat — we both played in the same weather conditions," Simeone said.

"They played much better than we did. They have amazing players, and that's why they've just won everything."

Also on Sunday, Brazil's Palmeiras drew 0-0 with Portuguese giant Porto in Group A before a crowd of 46,275 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Palmeiras was denied on multiple occasions by Porto's substitute goalkeeper Claudio Ramos, whose impressive performance ensured the Portuguese club secured a hard-earned point.

Brazil's club champion in 2022 and '23, Palmeiras qualified as the winner of the 2021 Copa Libertadores, while Porto, two-time European champion, reached the tournament as Europe's fifth-ranked eligible team over a four-year period.

There is a four-way tie in Group A, which opened with Inter Miami and Al Ahly drawing 0-0 on Saturday, Palmeiras will face 12-time African champion Al Ahly on Thursday in New Jersey and Porto will play Miami the same day in Atlanta.

Another Brazilian side, Botafogo, beat the Seattle Sounders 2-1 in a Group B clash at Lumen Field in Seattle.

The South Americans took a commanding two-goal first-half lead, but the Sounders managed to pull one back in the 75th minute.

Agencies