FIFA Club WC: Bayern hand 10-goal beating to Auckland City; UEFA CL champs PSG start tournament with 4-0 win
Cincinnati : Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich kickstarted their FIFA Club World Cup campaign on a high, delivering a devastating 10-0 beating to Auckland City at TQL Stadium on Sunday night.
The standouts were Thomas Muller being among three players scoring a brace, and Jamal Musiala delivering a brilliant hat-trick.
Kingsley Coman started the destruction of the New Zealand-based club with the help of a close-range header in the sixth minute. The German giants then upped the attack, with Sacha Boey (18th minute), Michael Olise (20) and Coman (21) again delivering three quick goals, making sure that they were out of harm's way by miles before even the clock hit 30 minutes.
By the time half-time had arrived, Muller, associated with the club for 25 years, joined the goal-scoring party with a fine volley (45th minute), and Olise (45th minute+3) struck a left-footed strike from a long distance to take the scoreline to 6-0.
The second half was Jamal's stage to shine as he started with a magnificent long-range effort (67th minute), followed by a penalty conversion (73rd minute). He completed his hat-trick in the 84th minute, making the most out of an error from goalkeeper Conor Tracey. In the 89th minute, Muller made the scoreline double-digit, sending a warning to the rest of the opponents.
Following the game, Vincent Kompany, the Bayern coach, was quoted as saying by FIFA's official website, "We do not need praise or anything like that right now, we just did our job. We played very seriously. We did what we had to do, and perhaps the goal difference in this group is not unimportant. That is why the ten goals are perhaps also important for this group stage."
Also, Muller said, "The stadium was full, we had fans who were really into the game and reacted to the flow of play, especially celebrating the goals. After my last goal, I had a great moment celebrating with them. They were totally behind us. It was a lot of fun. All in all, a very good start. Sure, we were the favourites, but we lived up to that role. That is how we want to keep going," he concluded.
Meanwhil, in hot and sunny conditions, the newly-crowned UEFA Champions League winners Paris-Saint Germain handed a 4-0 defeat to Atletico de Madrid.
Having won the Ligue 1, Coupe de France and UEFA CL in a historic 2024/25 campaign, the French giants started their global supremacy aspirations with a low drive from outside the box from Fabian Ruiz in the 19th minute. Despite an early attempt from Julian Alvarez, Atletico struggled to break through PSG's defence.
Another strike from Vitinha in the 45th minute doubled their lead at the end of the half-time.
Though Atletico made some attempts, it was PSG's substitute Senny Mayulu's strike that tripled the lead and ruled out any chances of a comeback for the opponents in the 87th minute. During the added time, a handball from Robin Le Normand gave PSG another chance to score as Lee Kangin effortlessly converted a penalty.
Following the game, PSG defender Marquinhos said, "We never know how a game will end up, especially when playing an opponent like them. Our team showed its strength. Yes, we won the Champions League, but today we showed our intensity once again. We have to be humble, continue to defend, to attack, and keep going in the same direction."
Also, Atletico star Antoine Griezmann said, "We expected to be able to play the same kind of game as at the Parc [des Princes last November], but it was tougher with the heat. Some plays could have gone our way, but they went their way. We have to keep working. We expected this. We had prepared our plan well. It is a shame."
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