Well, that didn’t take long. Just as soon as we could say “Welcome back to Atlanta, Messi,” Paris Saint-Germain showed why they’re the reigning Champion’s League victors as Joao Neves dunked on Miami off a beautifully worked free kick. Another Club World Cup match arrived to the crown jewel of Atlanta inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium as Inter Miami took on PSG in MLS’ only knockout round appearance. Spoiler alert: it did not go well for the MLS team. Here are some final whistle thoughts live from Mercedes-Benz Stadium!
PSG are ruthless
You’d expect nothing less from the current UEFA Champion’s League winners, but PSG is going on 365 days of playing soccer. The way they entered this match, they looked like absolute world beaters. Their first touches, passes, set-pieces, and pressure were dominant. The first word that came to my mind in watching them was “fierce.” Within 20 minutes the game could’ve easily been 4-0, but credit to (mostly) Oscar Ustari for keeping Miami in the game at 1-0 approaching 38 minutes.
But then that all went down the proverbial sewer and it ended up being 4-0n at the half anyway thanks to some incredibly well worked goals plus a Miami own goal. No matter which way it’s twisted, Miami simply got outdone in this match.
Open the pocketbooks, MLS
We’ve been harping on it for years, but PSG just showed the world why half-assing roster rules will never be enough for MSL to compete on the world stage. LAFC and Seattle both got thumped in the group stage, and even a team with four of the best players the game has ever seen got rocked. I’m not even advocating for removing the salary cap as a whole, but at minimum it should be massively increased and another DP spot added. And for those who argue in favor of the teams who traditionally don’t spend…sorry, either get on board or sell the team and let someone who cares about the game step in to help further soccer in North America.
Attendance
Kinda funny what happens when you schedule a game at a normal time, innit?
The crowd was very much a part of this game for both PSG and Miami, and it was honestly very refreshing to hear the natural peaks and valleys of emotions as each team (mostly PSG) pushed for more. The fact remains that Mercedes-Benz Stadium remains one of the best venues to watch a game in the world.
For a neutral, this game was quite the spectacle. It’s not often any team fielding Lionel Messi struggles in the way Miami did today, but PSG showed by they’re the best club in the world at the moment. This was always going to be an uphill battle, but Miami’s defensive woes reared their ugly head in every way possible today. Let us know below what you thought of the match!
What I saw was PSG demonstrating what “the beautiful game” really is. Whatever Atlanta United is doing week in and week out is an abomination.
I really enjoyed this game. It was a master lesson on how to play beautiful soccer. It was a pleasure to see the skill, speed, ball movement, precision passing and athleticism displayed by PSG. I hope all of AU players and coach watched this game. The crowd was great and added to the atmosphere (too bad AU games are no longer like this) I know Miami is not at this level but it was nice to see an MLS team play in a match that meant something. I hope Saturday’s match will be as entertaining as this one was.
I have a bit of a different read on the roster rules thing. Baked into my perception is my own opinion that MLS doesnt need to compete with the likes if PSG on a world stage.
I also think Seattle and LAFC held their own, much moreso than if this competition woukd have been held 10-20 years ago. The reality is Inter Miami also got the easiest group by far. I think LAFC or Seattle has a shot at advancing out of that group, and Inter Miami has no shot in the other groups.
From an investment standpoint, we really need to talk about the recent salary guide dropped by MLS. According to an Athletic article, Atlanta United has the third highest guaranteed salary in the league? What a joke. Toronto is #2. Philadelphia is second bottom in payroll and they continue to excel.
If anyone needs to consider selling, it’s Uncle Arthur. It’s clear the only way he knows how to win is on the Balance Sheet.
Philly great regular season, not so great in playoffs. If they don’t want to change the roster rules, then drop the ticket prices as the difference in quality was evident today.
I personally don’t think we should try to compare MLS to Europe; maybe in another 30 years but not now. I do think the salary cap should increase slowly and player development improved by hiring better coaches. Adding another DP may help but I’d rather increase the cap every year or every couple of years even if it’s only small increments.
MLS seeks to be one of the better leagues in the world. This game showed them, if they are willing to see it, how far they still have to go to get to a competitive level.
They need a salary floor, and no cap. If a team doesn’t want to spend, they can move to the USL for all I care.