ATLANTA — What we thought would happen between Inter Miami and Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup did happen.
The upstart Major League Soccer club looked every bit the part against the reigning European champions.
Not even Lionel Messi, the greatest to ever play, could help David in this matchup against Goliath.
Once upon a time, Messi was bigger than Goliath. He may still be on his best day. Just not on this day, in his first match as a 38-year-old, when Paris Saint-Germain blanked Inter Miami 4-0 on Sunday, June 29, in front of 65,574 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
PSG’s João Neves scored twice (6′ and 39′), Inter Miami’s Tomás Avilés was credited with an own goal (44′) and Achraf Hakimi put the game away before the halftime whistle (45’+3′) to eliminate Inter Miami from the round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup.
“Well, the difference between the two teams was clear to see, but I’m very, very proud of my players, of all the work they’ve done during the competition,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano told DAZN after the match.
Messi is still the biggest star in the world, even in the twilight of his career. The fans packed the stadium with excitement to see him. They wore Inter Miami jerseys, Argentina jerseys and Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain jerseys.
The fans cheered every moment he touched the ball, patiently waiting for him to deliver the majestic Messi moment he has countless times in his legendary career.
Messi nearly did several times, including a free-kick opportunity in the 88th minute with all eyes and cell phone cameras on him. Sadly, he kicked it into a wall of PSG players.
Messi kept his emotions in check, but you could see his helplessness every time he looked down after looking up at the scoreboard in the first half.
Still, he didn’t stop pushing the envelope in the second half.
Chants of ‘Messi, Messi’ rang loudly in the 63rd minute, and he nearly answered the call – sprinting his way toward a shot from his left boot that skid right into the PSG goalkeeper’s hands.
He nearly delivered a header inside the box in the 80th minute, into the goalkeeper’s hands again.
The Messi moment never came.
‘PSG is a great team, the winners of the last Champions League, and the truth is they’re doing very very well. It was what we expected,’ Messi told DSports after the loss. ‘It was the match we anticipated, we tried to do our best, and well, we left a good impression in terms of the Club World Cup.’
PSG is clearly the European champion for a reason, while Inter Miami is a club whose youth is too inexperienced, and its aging stars on the other side of their careers.
PSG players showed a mastery of being able to get the ball from midfield into the goal area with ease, while Inter Miami players were often turned around trying to catch up. They also lifted their feet off the gas in the second half, and cruised to the quarterfinals.
“We started the match almost perfect,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique, who coached Messi and Inter Miami’s former Barcelona stars to a Champions League title in 2015. “We were great in the first half. In the second half, it was less energy. They couldn’t score at all. But I’m happy.”
The crowd nearly exploded when Messi lofted a pass right at the feet of Luis Suarez early in the second half. The 38-year-old Uruguayan legend whiffed on his opportunity to strike and bowed his head in disappointment.
Inter Miami’s Sergio Busquets is one of the best midfielders to ever play the sport. His dribbling is one of his best skills. But he was mugged by PSG’s Fabián Ruiz just outside the goal area midway in the first half.
PSG started a three-man weave that would make Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich proud: Bradley Barcola pounced on the steal, dropped it off to Ruiz, and he found Neves with their third pass in the goal area, and PSG’s second goal of the match in the 39th minute.
Even Messi was a step slow on a give-and-go with Marcelo Weigandt early in the second half.
“The truth is that the game was over very early in the first half. But anyway, the team kept going,” Busquets told DAZN. “What we did in the second half was perhaps what we wanted to do in the first half and throughout the game.”
Added Jordi Alba: “I’ve been lucky enough to experience it from the other side. Now (it’s) from another perspective.”
Inter Miami earned at least $21 million for participating, winning a match with two draws in the group stage, and advancing to the Round of 16 in the Club World Cup.
They carried the torch for the three MLS teams in the tournament.
They pulled off North America’s first win against a club from Europe when they beat FC Porto from Portugal behind an epic free kick goal from Messi just 10 days ago.
They were outclassed and outmatched 10 days later.
By a club that won the same trophy Messi, Suarez, Busquets, Alba and Mascherano raised together in Barcelona under Enrique’s leadership 10 years ago.
This was expected.
The result shouldn’t make Inter Miami less proud about what they achieved.
“I think it was positive for the club and for the team to get this far,” Inter Miami defender Maxi Falcon said. “Obviously, we faced a great opponent, and we have to be gracious in defeat.”
Added Alba: “I think we’ve competed very well. It has to help us gain confidence that if we’re doing well and we know how we play, we can compete against anyone. And from there, if we stay focused and keep this desire in the MLS, we’ll have a lot of chances to win.”
This story has been updated to include a new video.