By halftime, at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, a Miami own goal and an Achraf Hakimi strike made the score four.
On Saturday, the European champions will face the winner of the semifinal match between Bayern Munich and Flamengo.
After the first 50 minutes, Miami were held without a shot attempt for the first 50 minutes, Oscar Ustari made six saves for Inter Miami. Gianluigi Donnarumma of PSG had to make just three. Messi’s first encounter with PSG since leaving the club and immigrating to the United States two years ago was at the event.
Less than five minutes into the match, Desire Doue won PSG a free kick just outside the penalty area. Viitinha intercepted the kick and connected with Neves, who headed it directly over Ustari’s body.
In the 19th minute, Miami defender Noah Allen tripped and was substituted due to injury. Tomas Aviles, his replacement, tripped up Nuno Mendes right away, earning a yellow card.
Neves doubled the lead in the 39th minute as PSG kept controlling the game. Sergio Busquets was taken out of the box by Fabian Ruiz, and a quick passing sequence gave Neves room to launch an unimpeded shot from the center.
In the 44th minute, Aviles unintentionally chested a PSG cross over his own goal line, which made for an even worse match.
Bradley Barcola of PSG made a flawless run to catch a pass deep inside the box, and Hakimi received it shortly after.
Ustari’s head and crossbar were punctured by his first shot, but Hakimi added his own rebound to give the team a 4-0 lead.
In the 51st minute, Messi had a left-footer deflected over the net, which was the result of a quiet first half.
The best chance for Inter Miami came in the opening minute of the second half.
Luis Suarez was forced to clear the ball after Messi passed him, but the ball slipped unpronounceably off his foot. The 38-year-old striker ended his day by kicking a water bottle over the barrier in disbelief.
In the 63rd minute, Messi finally connected with Inter Miami’s first shot on goal, but goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was quick to grab it.
With about 10 minutes left, Messi had another chance on a header, putting Donnarumma in danger of getting a diving save.
Neves described it as a “positive” day for PSG.
“I’m very happy because this is my first game where I have scored two goals.” But the victory makes me happier, he told DAZN.
“We are confident in the same way as before.” No matter who [our opponents are], we will play our game. We are currently exhausted, but we will recover [before the quarterfinal].”
Javier Mascherano, the coach of Inter Miami, claimed that his team had a positive learning experience from the game.
Source: Aljazeera
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