European giants cruise in Club World Cup
New York, June 16 (UNI) European giants took center stage at the FIFA Club World Cup as Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain cruised to emphatic opening wins.
Elsewhere, Botafogo earned a narrow victory over Seattle Sounders while Palmeiras and Porto settled for a goalless draw.
In Group C, attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala netted a second-half hat-trick as Bayern Munich romped to a 10-0 victory over semi-professional Auckland City on Sunday.
Kingsley Coman and Michael Olise struck two goals each while Sacha Boey and Thomas Muller
were also on the scoresheet as the German side raced to a 6-0 lead at halftime at TQL Stadium
in Cincinnati.
Musiala, a 61st-minute substitute for Harry Kane, then struck three times in 17 minutes before veteran Muller doubled his personal tally a minute from time.
The New Zealand outfit could manage only one shot on target and controlled just 28% of possession against the current Bundesliga champions.
Bayern's win is the biggest in the history of the Club World Cup, surpassing Al-Hilal's 6-1 victory over Al Jazira in 2021.
"Job done. We played very seriously and did what we had to do," Bayern manager Vincent Kompany told a post-match news conference.
"Perhaps goal difference is also important in this group. When a team sits deep and defends well,
it's not a given that they'll score 10 goals. And that's why we couldn't do much more today."
Auckland City manager Ivan Vicelich said he could not fault his players, some of whom had to take unpaid leave from their jobs to take part in the tournament.
"This is the reality of football against one of the world's top teams," Vicelich said.
"It is a dream for players coming from an amateur level to play in this environment. 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 favorites for the Club World Cup, so we are just really proud of the players' efforts."
In Group B, newly crowned European champions Paris Saint-Germain scored twice in each half to cruise to a 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in front of more than 80,000 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha struck first-half goals for the French side and Atletico suffered another blow when Clement Lenglet was sent off for a second yellow card 12 minutes from time.
Teenager Senny Mayulu and Lee Kang-in capitalized on Paris Saint-Germain's numerical advantage with late goals as the Parisians lived up to their billing as one of the title favorites.
"We had the objective of making history this season, but this [the Club World Cup] is a new chapter," PSG manager Luis Enrique told reporters after the match.
"It's a nice challenge for the players and the team, to want to keep winning."
Brazil's Palmeiras and Portuguese side Porto played out a goalless draw in their Group A clash at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. Led in attack by Chelsea-bound teenager Estevao, Palmeiras looked the more dangerous side but could not find a way past Porto goalkeeper Claudio Ramos, who made a series of fine saves.
"We managed to create a lot of chances with our pressure but we weren't able to score the goal we deserved - that's football," Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira said afterwards.
In Sunday's other Group B duel, reigning Brazilian Serie A champions Botafogo secured a 2-1 victory over MLS club Seattle Sounders. Headers from Jair and Igor Jesus gave Botafogo a 2-0 lead at halftime before Cristian Roldan reduced the deficit when his flicked effort deflected in off Jesus' shoulder.
Buoyed by their home fans at Lumen Field, Seattle grew in stature in the last 20 minutes but lacked incisiveness in the final third.
"We didn't play well but we got the result that we wanted and that's the most important thing," Botafogo captain Marlon Freitas said. "We were a little nervous, but we know we can improve.
Now we can rest and prepare for a difficult match against Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday."
UNI/XINHUA BM
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