That the MLS side were into the knockout stages in the event was something of a surprise in itself, and their participation was largely down to their talismanic captain after his astonishing free-kick against Porto won them the match.
Another big CWC win was expected
The tournament had already seen its fair share of big wins, and pre-game all of the chatter appeared to centre around not whether PSG would win, but how many they would win by.
Certainly, the European Champions had already shown beyond doubt in 2024/25 that they were a force to be reckoned with, whilst Miami hadn't really managed to build up a head of steam.
Messi and Suarez won the Champions League with Luis Enrique at the helm back in 2015 of course, the last time that this Barcelona duo held aloft that particular trophy, so the Argentinian will have been aware of exactly what type of game PSG were going to bring to the party.
Would the astroturf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and 'home' advantage effectively be the leveller?
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Pattern quickly emerged after kick-off
The strangest of kick-offs saw PSG boot the ball straight out of play for a goal kick, and if the idea behind that was to gain territory, it didn't work as Oscar Ustari battered it back from whence it came.
Within two minutes, a pattern had already emerged, Inter keeping a compact 4-4-2 formation against PSG's free-flowing 4-3-3.
Kvicha Kvaratskhelia's wonderful run into the box deserved a finish to match, though Ustari stood tall as the ball was squared to Bradley Barcola.
A free-kick for a foul on Desire Doue shortly afterwards found an unmarked Joao Neves at the back post, and his header gave PSG their dream start. Even with 85 minutes still left on the clock, itfelt it was already going to be a long way back for Messi and Co.
By 10 minutes of play, the huge gulf in quality was self-evident.
Not only could Miami not get out of their half for long periods, but they had ceded 76.1% possession and played just 35 accurate passes compared to 122 from the French giants.
Industrious Noah Allen off with hamstring strain
Seven of Miami's players had accrued 100% perfect passing records, though that wasn't difficult given the small number of passes made, with PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma not even touching the ball.
Fabian Ruiz looked to have put PSG 2-0 up after the quarter hour but was adjudged offside, as the one-sided nature of the game continued.
Noah Allen, who had made the most passes of the MLS side (11), saw his game end early with a hamstring injury, and his replacement, Tomas Aviles, received a yellow card within a minute of his introduction.
It would be 25 minutes before Miami were able to push deep into PSG territory, and not only did their chance come to nothing, but with so many players forward, Luis Enrique's side were able to break at pace.
Achraf Hakimi (five touches in the opposition box), Barcola (four), Nuno Mendes, Doue and Kvaratskhelia continued to toy with their opponents and yet still had just the one goal to show for their efforts.
Aerially, Miami were imperious, winning every headed duel, but on the ground, they were no match for a team that eased through the gears.
Two quick goals killed the game as a contest
Some scrappy periods of play followed before Neves slid home his second after a poor defensive error, the first time the Portuguese has scored a brace in his PSG career.
Aviles' next contribution was an own goal in the 44th minute in a game to forget for him and for Miami, who then let in another from Hakimi in first-half injury-time.
Embarrassingly, at the HT whistle, Miami hadn't had a shot on or off target and hadn't even touched the ball in PSG's box. In total, they'd had only four touches in the final third of the pitch.
Is it any wonder the CWC hasn't caught the imagination as much as FIFA hoped when you have stats like that in games between teams that are, so very clearly, mismatched?!
The Barcelona connection almost paid dividends three minutes into the second half as a cross from Jordi Alba was volleyed into Luis Suarez's path by Messi, though El Pistolero's touch let him down at the crucial moment.
It was a brief respite as PSG dominated every facet of play once again.
Perhaps the only 'win' Inter could celebrate in the first hour was Sergio Busquets' 100% pass accuracy, the Spaniard showing he's lost none of his quality, even if it was all in vain.
Miami left chasing shadows
The joy with which PSG moved the ball around simply left Miami chasing shadows, and when the MLS side managed to break forward - which wasn't often - defensively the French side were as adept as they were attacking.
Eight interceptions collectively was more than Javier Mascherano's outfit, and 10 tackles won during the opening 60 minutes was the major reason why Inter weren't making inroads in an attacking sense.
Ousmane Dembele's first minutes in the CWC came when Neves was subbed off on 61, and, as might be expected, it took him a while to adjust to the game given he hadn't played since the Champions League final some 29 days previously.
Messi soon fired a presentable shot on target - Inter's first, whilst PSG's 16 shots attempted with 20 minutes still to play were already higher than their average of 15.6 in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
A renewed desire from the Herons at least gave them the kudos of winning more total duels in the game than their more illustrious opponents, though it must be accepted that in the latter stages, the game became more equal simply because Luis Enrique's side took their foot completely off the gas.
PSG can be perfectly happy with another polished performance, whilst Messi and Inter Miami head back home and need to pick themselves up for their next fixture against Montreal in a week's time.
