2 PSG strengths Inter Miami must combat in Club World Cup upset bid | OneFootball

Inter Miami exceeded expectations in the group stage of the FIFA Club World Cup, finishing second and advancing to the knockout phase.

But the challenge will get much steeper against Paris Saint-Germain in Sunday's second-round clash.

Less than a moth ago, PSG romped to a 5-0 victory over Inter Milan to win the the UEFA Champions League for the first time in club history. They very well might be the best team on earth.

And if Lionel Messi and Miami are going to have any chance of pulling the biggest upset of the tournament so far, they're going to have to deal with these two key PSG strengths:

Dominance in midfield

Since Luis Enrique arrived at the club, PSG has controlled the midfield in 95% of the games they played. How? Because Paris Saint-Germain has a midfield trio that can handle any situation.

Firstly, you have Fabian Ruiz, a talented Spanish player with the ability to lead the ball in the rival's territory and control the pace of the game. With fewer defensive responsibilities, Ruiz is in charge of distributing the ball to Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, or Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

Helping him create the game is Joao Neves, their Portuguese gem. The 20-year-old contributes to the team's fluidity with his through balls and passes into space in the final third.

But unlike Fabián Ruiz, Neves also has a major impact on Paris's defensive phase. Alongside Vitinha, his tackling and constant pressure helps him recover the ball faster.

Finally, we arrive at the man of the moment. Vitinha. One of the top candidates to win the Ballon d'Or, t the Portuguese international controls every aspect of PSG's play, from getting to the edge of the box to shoot to winning back possession in midfield and supporting wide players in delivering crosses.

Vitinha is the key piece in Luis Enrique's puzzle. If the Portuguese midfielder is in form, the whole team clicks.

Constant pressure

In the last two years, PSG became a pressuring team. Luis Enrique turned them into a constant machine with one goal in mind: run and recover the ball.

If you watch the Champions League this year, you will notice this aspect of Paris's game. We've seen it against Liverpool, Aston Villa and in the final, against Inter.

With their wingers set up high to mark the fullbacks and the midfield trio covering spaces behind the striker, PSG forced their rivals to make mistakes or give long, sloppy passes.

Inter Miami's center-backs, Tomas Aviles and Maxi Falcon, will experience a suffocating pressure, one they have not experienced before.

If, and only if, Luis Enrique decides to start Demebele, who didn't play in the group stage, the pressure will be even worse.

Ousmane Dembele runs the 90 minutes of the game. But the French striker applies the deadliest pressure there is, the smart kind. He knows when to run and when to wait, and how to get into defenders' heads.