PSG thrash Inter Miami in Club World Cup knockouts as Lionel Messi overwhelmed by former club | OneFootball

Lionel Messi was overwhelmed by his former employers as Paris Saint-Germain stormed to a 4-0 thrashing of Inter Miami to send the last remaining American team out of the Club World Cup.

With Messi facing the team where he spent two seasons before moving to the MLS in the twilight of his stellar career, the European champions quickly erased the Miami’s hopes of pulling off a monumental upset before a crowd of 65,574 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Joao Neves nabbed a brace and notched his first goal just six minutes into the match, converting a header at the back post off a free kick.

The Portuguese midfielder added another in the 39th minute before Inter Miami totally fell apart in the closing stages of the first half, surrendering an own-goal and then watching helplessly as Achraf Hakimi tacked on another in stoppage time to send PSG to the locker room with a four-goal cushion.

It was reminiscent of PSG's historic 5-0 rout of Inter Milan a month ago in the Champions League final, when the Paris club won its first European title and established itself as the clear favourite heading into the expanded Club World Cup.

The pink-clad fans tried to stir Messi with occasional chants of his name, but it did little good. The Argentine star spent most of the first half just lingering in the midfield, surrounded by PSG players and barely getting a chance to touch the ball.

Inter Miami's best chance came early in the second half. A pass to Luis Suarez sent him clear at the side of the net, but the ball slid harmlessly off his foot without a shot. The 38-year-old striker kicked a water bottle over the barrier in frustration, summing up the day for the Herons.

Messi finally connected with Inter Miami's first shot on goal in the 63rd minute, but it was easily scooped up by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. Messi had another chance on a header with about 10 minutes remaining, forcing Donnarumma to make a diving save in the only real threat to his third shutout of the tournament.

PSG advanced to a quarter-final match next Saturday, also in Atlanta, against either Flamengo or Bayern Munich who meet later on Sunday.