ATLANTA: Paris Saint-Germain steamrollered Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 4-0 to reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.

Miami hoped the Argentine superstar’s magic could help them produce an unlikely result against his former side, but the Major League Soccer side were dismantled in Atlanta by Luis Enrique’s rampant European champions.

Ageing great Messi and his former Barcelona team-mates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba had done well to reach the last 16 but the gulf in quality between the teams was laid bare over the 90 minutes.

Joao Neves netted twice for PSG, who benefitted from a Tomas Aviles own goal, while Achraf Hakimi was also on target.

After Neves opened the scoring early on Miami resisted until PSG hit three goals in 10 minutes towards the end of the first half.

Messi was the main draw, as fans chanted his name and most of the 66,000 crowd were clad in Miami’s hot pink interspersed with Argentina shirts.

PSG dominated from the start, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia floating into the box and teeing up Bradley Barcola, but Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari thwarted him with an outstretched leg.

However shortly afterwards over-run Miami right-back Marcelo Weigandt fouled Desire Doue and it led to PSG’s opener.

Vitinha whipped a free-kick to the back post where Portuguese midfielder Neves ran in completely unmarked, stooping to nod past Ustari after six minutes.

PSG’s Fabian Ruiz had a goal disallowed for offside before Miami defender Noah Allen limped off injured in a further blow for Javier Mascherano’s side.

With the Ligue 1 champions pressing high and keeping possession Miami found it hard to get Messi involved.

The 38-year-old Argentine superstar played a superbly weighted pass down the right flank for Tadeo Allende but a rare Miami break came to nothing.

Messi’s intermittent interventions were not enough to hold back the Parisian tide.

PSG doubled their lead in the 39th minute when veteran holding midfielder Busquets got his footwork wrong in front of his own box.

Spanish compatriot Ruiz rapidly relieved him of the ball and combined with Barcola to set up Neves to tap home his second.

PSG grabbed their third when Aviles deflected Doue’s cross into his own net, and Hakimi netted the fourth before half-time to put PSG out of sight.

The Morocco international’s first effort was deflected onto the crossbar but he stayed alert at the air-conditioned Mercedes-Benz Stadium to fire home the rebound.

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi lost his cool with a swipe aimed at Vitinha as the Argentine raged against the midfielder, Miami’s impotence and PSG’s swagger.

Messi produced a brilliant pass for Suarez early in the second half, chipping a ball over the PSG defence, but the Uruguayan could not finish to offer Miami a lifeline.

Despite the impossibility of a comeback — there was to be no comeback like the one Luis Enrique’s Barcelona managed in 2017 against PSG from four goals down in which Messi and Suarez scored -- the Argentine was determined to bow out with a bang.

Messi drew a first save from PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma after the hour mark with a low effort.

Luis Enrique sent on winger Ousmane Dembele for his first appearance at the tournament after a hamstring injury, but the Frenchman was rusty and imprecise.

When Suarez was fouled by Lucas Beraldo on the edge of the box Messi had the chance to repeat his free-kick winner against Porto in the group stage, but his effort hit the wall.

It was not to be for Messi or Miami, but their second-half performance was respectable and the defeat was by a lesser margin than the French side’s 5-0 Champions League final thrashing of Inter Milan.

PSG will face Bayern Munich or Flamengo in the quarter-finals in Atlanta next week.

Chelsea down 10-man Benfica

Chelsea scored three times in the second period of extra-time to hand 10-man Benfica a 4-1 defeat in Charlotte in their weather-affected last-16 clash on Saturday as the English side set up a quarter-final meeting with Brazil’s Palmeiras.

Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored in a nine-minute spell to take Enzo Maresca’s side through after the teams had been forced off the pitch for almost two hours due to a lightning storm.

Chelsea had taken the lead through Reece James in the 64th minute and, after the teams returned to the field, Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni was sent off two minutes into injury time.

But Angel di Maria scored from the penalty spot three minutes later to take the game into extra-time, from where Chelsea eventually prevailed to set up their meeting with Palmeiras on Friday.

Chelsea captain James showcased his set-piece prowess to give the Premier League side the lead, breaking the deadlock in the 64th minute when he curled home a sublime free kick.

The match was halted five minutes from time due to a lightning storm near the Bank of America Stadium, activating the weather protocol and resulting in a break of almost two hours as teams and supporters were moved out of exposed areas.

Upon the teams’ return, Prestianni was sent off for a second bookable offence seven minutes after the restart, but Benfica were given hope when di Maria scored from the penalty spot following Malo Gusto’s handball.

Chelsea, though, made the most of their one-man advantage in extra-time.

Nkunku put Chelsea back in front three minutes into the second period when he lifted the ball over Nicolas Otamendi with an astute finish after Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin had blocked Moises Caicedo’s initial shot.

Six minutes later Neto hit Chelsea’s third with a composed finish as he raced in on goal, having been found by Caicedo. Dewsbury-Hall completed the scoring in the 117th minute when he was released into space by Cole Palmer.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2025