UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain face off against a familiar opponent in their Club World Cup opener, as Atlético Madrid await in Pasadena on Sunday.
These two sides met for the first time in a competitive fixture during the all-new Champions League phase, and Atlético remarkably snatched a last-gasp 2–1 victory thanks to Ángel Correa’s goal on the breakaway.
PSG were dominant but somehow succumbed, with that defeat arriving at a time when Luis Enrique’s side hadn’t yet emerged as a potential contender to go all the way. They turned it on in the new year, slaying three Premier League sides amid their journey to the final. In Munich, the Parisians produced one of the all-time great performances on the big stage, thumping Inter 5–0 to claim their first Champions League crown.
2024–25 was a campaign which promised so much for Atléti after they won 15 on the bounce midway through the season. However, Diego Simeone’s side cruelly exited Europe at the hands of their Madrid neighbors and eventually fell away in the La Liga title race.
Victory in the U.S. would be a huge achievement for this group of players.
Here is guide to this blockbuster Club World Cup fixture.
