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 toward 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 defense, 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 on Saturday.

SPIELBERG: Lando Norris resisted vigorous attacks from team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri to claim a masterful McLaren 1-2 in Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.

In torrid heat at the Red Bull Ring, the 25-year-old Briton came home 2.695 seconds clear of the 24-year-old Australian to trim his lead in the title race by 15 points.

It was Norris’s first win in Austria, his third win this year and the seventh of his career.

It was McLaren’s first win in Austria since David Coulthard triumphed in 2001.

The McLaren pair battled throughout the race to provide thrilling racing for the packed crowd and put behind them their collision in Canada two weeks earlier.

Charles Leclerc was third ahead of his Ferrari team-mate seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, their best result of the year, with George Russell finishing fifth for Mercedes.

“It was a tough race,” said Norris.

“Pushing the whole way through... tricky, hot, tiring, but the perfect result for us as a team, a 1-2 again. We had a great battle, that’s for sure.”

For Piastri, it was equally demanding.

“Intense!” he said.

“I hope it was good watching because from inside the car it was hard work. Yeah, I tried my absolute best.”

Liam Lawson came in a career-best sixth for RB on a desultory day for the senior Red Bull team after four-time champion Max Verstappen retired on the opening lap after being hit by Mercedes’ teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli. He is now 61 points behind Piastri.

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso was seventh ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto and his Sauber team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, the future Audi outfit showing their huge potential, with Esteban Ocon finishing 10th for Haas.

After a frantic prelude, during which Carlos Sainz’s Williams failed to leave the grid and then caught fire in the pit lane, the race was delayed for 10 minutes — before delivering immediate drama at the second attempt.

Norris made a clean start while, behind him, Piastri passed Leclerc on the outside of Turn One before Antonelli locked up and lost control at Turn Three and hit Verstappen’s Red Bull.

A safety car was deployed as both drivers retired on lap one ending, for the defending champion a run of 31 races in the points.

“I got hit,” said the Dutchman on team radio.

The teenage rookie apologized. “I locked the rear. Sorry about that,” he told Mercedes.

The race resumed after a two-minute slowdown and Norris was forced immediately to defend as Piastri, looking sharp, attacked as also did Russell on Hamilton for fourth. Both were thwarted by defensive driving.

By lap 12, the McLaren duo were four seconds clear and delivering a show of their own.

Unhampered by any embarrassing hangovers from their collision in Montreal, they raced side by side and wheel to wheel, but each time the Australian attacked, the Briton hung on.

In scorching heat of 32 degrees (air) and 55 (track), it was a perfect advertisement for the historic venue in the Styrian Alps which had secured a 16-year contract extension to 2041 before the race.

Norris pitted, taking hards, after surviving another Piastri lunge, at turn four, on lap 20.

Piastri then followed suit, emerging fourth until Leclerc pitted.

After the leaders out on track also changed tires Norris led Piastri by 6.5 seconds.

Red Bull’s misery intensified on lap 30 when Yuki Tsunoda hit Colapinto, sending both to the pits for repairs.

The Japanese rejoined 16th and last of the runners with a new front wing before being handed a 10-second penalty.

As the field settled Norris led Piastri by 3.2s.

Russell began the second round of stops on lap 46, followed by the rest of the leaders, leaving Norris to complete a near-perfect day in the Styrian mountains.