PSG ease past Seattle Sounders and into Club World Cup last 16
SEATTLE: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Achraf Hakimi scored either side of half-time as European champions Paris Saint-Germain eased to a 2-0 win over Seattle Sounders on Monday to secure their place in the last 16 of the Club World Cup. PSG needed to bounce back from their 1-0 loss at the hands of Botafogo in their last Group B outing and they were too strong for the MLS side without ever really playing to their full potential. Kvaratskhelia deflected a wayward Vitinha shot into the net to open the scoring on 35 minutes in front of 50,628 fans at Lumen Field, Sounders’ home stadium. Hakimi then made it 2-0 just before the midway point in the second half to kill off any prospect of a comeback by the hosts. PSG are through to the next round and advance as group winners on goal difference, climbing up from second place because of Botafogo’s late defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid at the same time in Pasadena. The French champions will now go through to a tie against the Group A runners-up in Atlanta on Sunday, as they leave the west coast for the first time since arriving in the United States. Paris coach Luis Enrique made four changes to his line-up following the defeat at the hands of Botafogo, with captain Marquinhos, Nuno Mendes, Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves all coming in. However Ousmane Dembele, their top scorer during the European season just finished with 33 goals in all competitions, played no part for a third game running after traveling to the tournament with an injury. The Sounders needed a big win combined with a defeat for Atletico to progress to the last 16, something which was always going to be a big ask for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League winners. They didn’t have the quality to overly trouble PSG, who
