It has been 10 years since FC Barcelona contested their eighth and, to this date, last UEFA Champions League Final, with the Blaugranas prevailing 3-1 against Juventus in Berlin to secure their fourth European Cup. From that treble-winning team, several key figures faced off in Atlanta, GA on Sunday for a chance to qualify for the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, who made up that devastating attacking trio alongside Neymar Jr., are currently leading the line for Inter Miami, whilst starting left back Jordi Alba and defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets are still going strong for the Herons. Miami’s manager, meanwhile, is none other than Javier Mascherano, who partnered with Gerard Piqué in central defense for Barcelona.
That Barcelona team was managed by Luis Enrique, who would go on to manage the Spanish national team before taking charge of Paris Saint-Germain in 2023. The Spaniard guided PSG to a domestic treble in 2023/24 and narrowly missed out on a spot in the UEFA Champions League Final after falling to Borussia Dortmund.
Despite losing the club’s all-time leading goalscorer Kylian Mbappé on a free transfer to Real Madrid, PSG merely went up another notch, completing another domestic treble in stellar fashion and marching all the way to the biggest match in European soccer. Enrique’s PSG side would demolish Inter Milan 5-0 in the final in Munich, securing their first-ever Champions League title. They didn’t have much time to celebrate their triumph – just two weeks later, PSG would thrash Atlético Madrid 4-0 in their Club World Cup opener, before falling to a 1-0 defeat to Botafogo. However, after brushing past Seattle Sounders 2-0, they would end up securing top spot in Group B, setting up a tantalizing affair with Inter Miami in Atlanta.
From an emotional standpoint, it looked set to be a thrilling encounter that saw Messi face off against his former team as well as his former coach. On paper, however, it also seemed to be the most lopsided match out of all the Round of 16 encounters, with the best team in Europe going up against an Inter Miami side that had struggled to find its momentum in the first half of the 2025 MLS season, and that had to deal with plenty of defensive issues. However, there’s reason to believe that these woes at the back are changing.
“Javi [Mascherano] always shows us videos during the week about how to defend and what we need to improve on,” stated Inter Miami defender Marcelo Weigandt. “As players, we try to enter the field and get the necessary results, so we’re going to continue on the same path, with each of us enjoying ourselves and remaining humble and calm and working together as a team.”
This statement was corroborated by Miami’s Haitian winger Fafà Picault, who revealed: “[Mascherano’s] instructions have always been good, but I think right now it’s just a question of us rising to the occasion as a group and everyone doing their part. These games are not easy, so many different styles of play, which is what makes this tournament so interesting to watch and play in, but more than anything, it’s just a group effort right now.”
Expectations were high for Miami going into this season; the 2023 campaign had seen them win the Leagues Cup and reach the U.S. Open Cup Final, whilst the 2024 campaign would see them set an MLS regular season record for the most points (74) in an entire season. Mascherano would replace compatriot Tata Martino following the end of the 2024 season, guiding them to seven wins from their first eight matches. However, the month of April would bring stormy weather for Miami, who would slip up in stalemates vs. Toronto FC and Chicago Fire and suffer a defeat to FC Dallas in league play, as well as suffer a humiliating 5-1 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps in the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals.
All things considered, it seemed that Miami had spent far too much money in attack whilst ignoring gaping holes in midfield and defense.
These concerns heightened throughout May as Miami continued to leak goals, conceding a whopping 16 goals in six matches going into the FIFA Club World Cup and going 10 matches without a clean sheet. However, Miami managed to turn things around in the tournament opener, holding Egyptian giants Al Ahly to a 0-0 draw thanks to a Man of the Match display from Oscar Ustari, who saved eight shots (including a penalty) to keep the opposition at bay.
“I think the part where we struggled the most was the first 45 minutes vs. Al Ahly,” stated Inter Miami midfielder Federico Redondo. “They are a team that are at its best when attacking via transitions, and we were perhaps not cautious enough to control this. They generated a lot of goal-scoring in the first half, but we improved a lot in the second half, and since then, we’ve done a lot better from a defensive standpoint.”
Miami found themselves in a quagmire on Matchday Two after conceding an early penalty goal to Samu Aghehowa, but they would storm back to a 2-1 victory thanks to second-half goals from Messi and Telasco Segovia in Atlanta.
In doing so, they became the first Concacaf team to defeat a UEFA team in official competition. They returned to South Florida for the third group stage match, opening the scoring within a quarter-hour via Tadeo Allende. When Suárez doubled the advantage in the 65th minute, it seemed that Miami were home and dry.
Instead, Palmeiras would end up snatching two late goals via halftime substitutes Mauricio and Paulinho, prevailing with a 2-2 draw and securing top spot in Group A. And as such, Miami were no longer going to be taking on Botafogo in Philadelphia; instead, they were going to be taking on the champions of Europe in Atlanta.
At the end of the day, it went exactly as expected. PSG took the advantage after five minutes as Vitinha swung a free kick towards fellow Portuguese midfielder João Neves, who headed home from close range. Miami were caught napping in the 39th minute as Sergio Busquets was robbed of possession by compatriot Fabián Ruiz, with Bradley Barcola collecting the ball, racing towards the middle and drawing the attention of two pink shirts before slotting it towards Fabián.
Rather than take on the shot, Fabián slid the ball towards the middle for Neves, who made no mistake in front of an empty net. Les Parisiens continued to beat Miami back with Achraf Hakimi spreading it towards Désiré Doué, whose cross deflected off Tomás Avilés. The Champions League winners sealed the deal on the cusp of halftime as Vitinha teed up Barcola with a precise through ball, who slid it towards Hakimi, who put the cherry on top.
Miami would return from halftime with an inspired display, but the damage was already done; PSG held off the threat and prevailed with a 4-0 victory.
Whilst other teams like Chelsea and Real Madrid are continuing to pursue the ultimate prize in East Rutherford, NJ, Miami’s tournament has come to a bitter end. But as for PSG, they have continued to assert their status as the best team in world football, and they have a golden opportunity to get their hands on the first edition of the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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