Los Angeles, June 16 (IANS) Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone refused to blame the scorching temperatures at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl for his side’s heavy 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in their Club World Cup opener on Sunday.
Atletico was outplayed for most of the game, with Fabian Ruiz and Vitinha giving PSG a 2-0 lead at halftime. Late goals from Senny Mayulu and Lee Kang-in sealed the win, while Atletico finished with 10 men following Clement Lenglet’s red card, reports Xinhua.
“The first half, we didn’t play as we should have,” admitted Simeone, who acknowledged the team improved after the break, but noted that “Lenglet’s sending off made things more complicated.”
“They (PSG) have a very young team, and they rounded it off in a great way,” said the Atletico coach. He dismissed suggestions that the 30-plus-degree heat was a factor.
“It’s the same heat in August (in Spain), so I don’t blame that, and it was hot for both sides,” he said while praising PSG for their quality.
“They played better than us, they play a team game with very young players and wingers who can change a game…they won the Champions League, the League, the Cup,” said Simeone, who admitted Atletico must now “get good results” in upcoming matches against Seattle Sounders and Botafogo.
Botafogo moved into second place in the group later in the day with a narrow 2-1 win over Seattle, who tested the Brazilian side throughout the match.
European giants took centre stage at the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday 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.
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.
–IANS
bsk/
