Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich dominated their opening matches at the inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday, with PSG defeating Atletico Madrid 4-0 and Bayern Munich crushing amateur side Auckland City 10-0 in Cincinnati.PSG’s victory came at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in front of 80,619 spectators, despite temperatures reaching 31 degrees Celsius. Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha scored in the first half, while Senny Mayulu and Lee Kang-In added late goals.Bayern Munich showed their superiority against amateur side Auckland City, whose players had to take unpaid leave to participate in the tournament. Jamal Musiala scored a hat-trick as a substitute, while Kingsley Coman, Michael Olise, and Thomas Mueller each scored twice, with Sacha Boey adding another goal.“We have to remain modest but it was important to be able to say that we took the game seriously,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany. “It was a good first match at the tournament, but of course challenges are going to grow and it’s going to become more difficult.”
Auckland’s interim coach Ivan Vicelich acknowledged the significant gap between his amateur side and the professional opposition. “It is a dream for players coming from an amateur level to play in this environment,” Vicelich said. “We knew it was going to be a very difficult game, playing against one of the top teams in the world, potentially one of the favourites for the Club World Cup, so we are just really proud of the players’ efforts.“PSG, fresh from their Champions League triumph, continued their impressive form as they pursue a fifth trophy this season. Their attacking display proved too much for Atletico Madrid to handle.Quiz: Who’s that IPL player?“We had the objective of making history this season, but this is a new chapter,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique. “It’s a nice challenge for the players and the team, to want to keep winning. The club is hungry, the fans are hungry, the players and the team are hungry, and that’s a good feeling. We have the same objective as in other competitions, which is to go as far as possible and try to win it.”Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone refused to use the weather conditions as an excuse for their defeat. “I cannot blame it on the heat — we both played in the same weather conditions,” Simeone said. “They played much better than we did. They have amazing players and that’s why they’ve just won everything.”Bayern Munich will face tougher competition in their upcoming Group C matches against Boca Juniors and Benfica.In other tournament action, Brazil’s Palmeiras drew 0-0 with Porto in Group A at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, while Botafogo was scheduled to face Seattle Sounders in Group B.The tournament marks the first time the FIFA Club World Cup has featured 32 teams, expanding from its previous format.
