The locals in the South Jersey and Philadelphia region often talk in hushed tones about a mythic creature residing in forests of the Pine Barrens in South Jersey- The Jersey Devil. The creature is described to move quickly and looks so terrifying that most people who have reported its sightings, just ran for their lives after catching a glimpse of it. On Thursday, in New Jersey’s Metlife Stadium in the Club World Cup semifinal, the Real Madrid defenders looked like they were being chased by the devil – constantly backtracking against a marauding Paris Saint Germain and almost freezing as if spooked.
Harkening back to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side of the late 2010s and the early 2020s, this PSG side have mastered the art of gegenpressing, constantly snapping at Real players’ feet throughout the contest. As soon as they lost the ball, the Luis Enrique-coached side would win it back in a matter of moments with the Los Blancos more often than not getting caught in possession.
The relentless pressing was how PSG got their first 2 goals when Raul Asencio and Antonio Rudiger, incidentally both centre-backs were caught daydreaming on the ball and conceded, courtesy of the French team’s graft.
Fabian Ruiz benefitted from Ousmane Dembele’s high pressing which led to Asencio’s mistake as he slotted into an empty goal in the 6th minute while the French striker doubled the European champions’ lead when he pounced on another error from Rudiger to whip it across keeper Thibaut Courtois in the 9th minute.
If the first two goals were avoidable, the third one was unstoppable as Dembele and Achraf Hakimi combined leading to the Moroccan playing across Real’s goal which was expertly finished off by Ruiz in the 24th minute. The move was a culmination of a lethal counterattack which has become the USP of Enrique’s side. It’s what kids are calling champagne football nowadays.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Fabian Ruiz, bottom, celebrates with team mate Achraf Hakimi after scoring his side’s third goal during the Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between PSG and Real Madrid in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo)
You’ll be hard pressed to remember the last time when Real had gone into half time at 0-3 down but under the blazing sun in Jersey, they looked like a second-rate side, such was the dominance of PSG. They ended the first half with 77% possession to Real’s 23% and played 384 passes to Los Blancos’ 95.
Real would improve just a smidge in the second half as PSG dropped the intensity, subbing off a lot of their stars but they still managed to keep the Spanish giants quiet. Kylian Mbappe, facing his former side, looked the most likely to score but PSG’s constant cutting off his supply line left him stranded most of the time, waiting for a pass that would not arrive.
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Goncalo Ramos, who had benched Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2022 World Cup, put the final nail in CR7’s former team’s coffin with a neat finish in the 88th minute, ending Real’s misery at 4-0.
The alarm bells won’t quite be ringing for new Real coach Xabi Alonso just yet with the former Bayer Leverkusen manager still yet to put his imprint on this team. But one of the first and foremost things he needs to address is Real’s defensive frailties which have been plaguing them all of last season. It says a lot about Real’s defence as Dean Huijsen, the ex-Bournemouth defender, who just joined them in May and was suspended from this match, was their best CB this tournament. They were also hampered by the injury to another summer arrival Trent Alexander Arnold but with the amount of riches Real have at their disposal, they could and should have done better.
Another glaring issue in the Real ranks is Vinicius Jr and Mbappe’s aversion to tracking back which left the Spanish team open to the counterattacks by PSG. “What I’m clear about is that we all have to defend. All 11 have to be involved. Without that… Vini, Jude, Fede, Kylian, the defence. The shorter we are, the better. We’re working on it, and so is Vini,” Alonso had said last month ahead of Real’s match against RB Salzburg. But it was clear from Vinicius and Mbappe’s performance against PSG that the message still hadn’t resonated with them.
After PSG beat Inter 5-0 in the Champions League final, people were wondering how they would fare against perennial UCL winners Real Madrid. On Thursday, PSG gave them an emphatic answer. Real didn’t so much as pass the torch than had it ripped from their cold, dead hands by the reigning European champions.
