Club World Cup: Ruiz double leads PSG into final
Setting aside key absences in defence, Paris Saint-Germain continued their impressive run through the Club World Cup, beating Real Madrid 4-0 to reach the competition's final. Catch up on all the action with our match recap.
No Pacho, no problem
Despite their status as champions of Europe, there was no small amount of uncertainty before the match, as the Ligue 1 McDonald's champions would be without two centre backs -- Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernández, while Ousmane Dembélé was still moving back to full fitness, having played just fifty minutes in the tournament to date. As it was, Dembélé was in the eleven from the off, while youngster Lucas Beraldo impressed alongside compatriot Marquinhos at the back as PSG dominated from front to back, leaving Gianluigi Donnarumma just two saves to make.
Things got off to as fine a start as Luis Enrique's side could have hoped, as in the sixth minute, a mix-up at the back on the part of Los Blancos saw Dembélé brought down in the box. With the referee playing advantage, Ruiz pounced on the loose ball, slotting past Thibault Courtois with ease. Just two minutes later, under pressure again from the irrepressible Dembélé, who was showing little sign of his injury, Antonio Rüdiger missed a simple touch, and the French striker was past him in a flash, placing a curving shot into the bottom corner to double the lead.
⚽️✅ Arsenal – UCL semi-finals
⚽️✅ Atlético – FIFA Club World Cup
⚽️✅ Real Madrid – Club World Cup semi-finals
Fabián Ruiz. What a player. 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/PBOWh5BnhD— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) July 9, 2025
Cruise control and a place in the final
From there, the match settled somewhat, but Madrid, with Kylian Mbappé making his first start of the tournament failed to make good on this parity, or to fashion any meaningful chances. Instead, it was PSG who would add to their lead, as Achraf Hakimi made a characteristic burst forward on the right flank. His low cross was met by Ruiz, who controlled and rifled a low shot into the net after holding off a defender to make it 3-0 halfway through the first half.
Early in the second, PSG thought they had a fourth, but the offside flag was up against Désiré Doué. PSG would get a fourth eventually, though, as Bradley Barcola, on off the bench, executed a lovely bit of skill and through ball to set up fellow substitute Gonçalo Ramos, giving the capital side a fourth and mirroring the margin by which they beat Real's city rivals, Atlético, to open the tournament. With this consummate victory, Ruiz and company have moved on to Sunday's final, in which they'll face Chelsea looking for a fifth title of the season (Ligue 1 McDonald's, Coupe de France, Trophée des Champions, Champions League).
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