Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone acknowledged the greatness of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) when his team was defeated with a score of 0-4 in the opening match of the 2025 Club World Cup Group B at the Rose Bowl, California.
"They are a great team, a young team. They have always had good players, and now they are a team," Simeone was quoted as saying by ESPN on Monday.
"In the first half we didn't play as we should have. They played very well. Even when we won the ball, we couldn't get away from their pressure. In the second half, we played better," he added.
PSG's four winning goals were scored by Fabian Ruiz (19'), Vitinha (45+1'), Senny Mayulu (87'), and a penalty from Lee Kang-in (90+7'). The victory was witnessed by 80,619 at the Rose Bowl, which hosted the 1994 World Cup final.
Both teams played in scorching weather that reached 31 degrees Celsius, but Simeone rejected the argument that this was a factor in his team's defeat.
He still feels his team's defeat was due to the greatness of Les Parisiens, who entered the Club World Cup after winning the treble.
