Paris Saint-Germain stunned Real Madrid with a dominant performance at MetLife Stadium near New York, booking their spot in the final of FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup.
Fabian Ruiz and Ousmane Dembélé struck within the opening nine minutes to shock the predominantly pro-Madrid crowd of 77,542, setting the tone for a commanding display. Ruiz added a second before the break, and Gonçalo Ramos sealed the 4–0 rout late on, pushing Luis Enrique’s side to the brink of historic success.
A victory over Chelsea in Sunday’s final would cap a remarkable season for PSG, who had already secured the French league title and their first UEFA Champions League crown in May. The Parisians have been unstoppable, brushing aside Inter Milan 5–0 in the Champions League final — the largest margin in the competition’s history — before sweeping past Atlético Madrid and now Real in the Club World Cup.
PSG’s seamless and cohesive play stood in stark contrast to Real Madrid, who are still adjusting under new manager Xabi Alonso. Kylian Mbappé, making his first appearance in the tournament and facing his former club for the first time since leaving, was largely ineffective.
The French captain, Real’s marquee signing, had hoped for a strong showing against his former side, for whom he scored a record 256 goals. However, his return ended in disappointment, delivering a blow to Real’s ambitions of lifting the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup to complement their record 15 European titles.
Meanwhile, PSG seem to have evolved beyond the Mbappé era, looking sharper and more complete as a team. Few would bet against them lifting the trophy on Sunday.
Despite being without suspended centre-back Willian Pacho, PSG showed no signs of weakness. Lucas Beraldo stepped in comfortably, and the rest of the squad featured key first-team regulars.
Real were also without central defender Dean Huijsen and suffered another setback with the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Mbappé returned from illness, but young forward Gonzalo Garcia retained his starting spot, with Vinicius Junior completing the front three. However, the attacking trio failed to make an impact against PSG’s dominance.
Thibaut Courtois prevented an even worse outcome early on, producing two brilliant saves to deny Ruiz and Nuno Mendes within the opening five minutes. But PSG’s breakthrough came in the sixth minute, with Dembélé capitalizing on a defensive lapse from Raul Asencio. Though Courtois blocked his initial effort, Ruiz buried the rebound.
Just three minutes later, Antonio Rüdiger’s miscontrol gifted Dembélé a clear run on goal. The Frenchman slotted home calmly to make it 2–0 — his 34th goal since August — reinforcing his Ballon d’Or credentials.
Real’s afternoon worsened when PSG netted a third before the break. After Gianluigi Donnarumma held a deflected Mbappé shot, PSG quickly transitioned. Dembélé fed Achraf Hakimi, who squared for Ruiz to hold off Fede Valverde and finish smartly.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia nearly added a fourth, and a second-half effort by Désiré Doué was ruled out for offside. With Real offering no response, Alonso substituted Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior after the hour mark, effectively conceding defeat.
PSG’s fourth came in the 87th minute when substitute Bradley Barcola played in Gonçalo Ramos, who turned and fired past Courtois to wrap up an emphatic win.
