Paris Saint-Germain confirmed their passage to the FIFA Club World Cup Round of 16 with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, though it wasn’t all smooth sailing in New Jersey.
The European champions dominated for large spells but had to rely on a heavy deflection to break the deadlock.
Vitinha’s mishit shot ricocheted off teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and wrong-footed Stefan Frei midway through the first half, rewarding PSG’s growing pressure after the Sounders keeper had denied Désiré Doué with a spectacular save.
Seattle had earlier spurned a golden chance when PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma played a careless pass straight to Jesus Ferreira, only for the striker to blaze over from a tight angle.
With just a one-goal cushion heading into the second half, memories of PSG’s shock loss to Botafogo lingered.
But the French giants sealed the win on a lethal counter as Doué launched a swift break and fed Bradley Barcola, whose low cross was calmly converted by Achraf Hakimi.
Seattle pushed late on, and Cristian Roldan came closest to a consolation with a fierce long-range effort that whistled past the post in the dying seconds, but PSG had already done enough.
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