MIAMI
\nInter Miami\u2019s Lionel Messi faces a tantalising reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot.
\nThey now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the way for the clash with Messi and surprise package Miami.
\nGoals from Tadeo Allende and Luis Suarez had Miami on course for a second victory in the tournament after their shock win over Porto.
\nBut Palmeiras struck twice in the last 10 minutes at Hard Rock Stadium through Paulinho and Mauricio to ensure they went through. Suarez, Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano will also face their former coach Luis Enrique, who guided them to the treble when in charge at Barcelona in 2015. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about the champions of Europe. We know many of their players and their coach, who I was lucky enough to have coach me, and I\u2019ve always said he is the best in the world,\u201d said Alba.
\n\u201cI will connect with good friends there but once the game starts, we will compete, try to beat them, and why can\u2019t we do it? This is football.\u201d Mascherano said Miami\u2019s progress had elevated Major League Soccer.\u201d
\nIt\u2019s a historic night for MLS, because we are into the best 16 teams in the world. All of the MLS has to be proud of Inter Miami,\u201d he said. Portuguese side Porto and Egypt\u2019s Al Ahly were eliminated after a thrilling 4-4 draw which was not enough for either team to overhaul Palmeiras or Miami.
\nEuropean champions PSG bounced back from their surprise defeat by Botafogo with a comfortable win in Seattle.
\nKhvicha Kvaratskhelia and Achraf Hakimi scored either side of half-time as the Ligue 1 champions advanced as group winners because of Botafogo\u2019s late defeat to Atletico Madrid in Pasadena.
\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy because the pitch was very different to what we are used to in Europe so we couldn\u2019t play with the fluidity that we like, but we adapted,\u201d said PSG coach Enrique.
\nPSG top scorer Ousmane Dembele played no part for a third game running after travelling to the tournament with an injury. Atletico\u2019s 4-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in their opener left them needing a big win against Botafogo to progress. Former France international Antoine Griezmann scored the game\u2019s only goal, lashing home a Julian Alvarez cross in the 87th minute to give Atletico a victory that ultimately was in vain.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re frustrated that we didn\u2019t qualify \u2014 we had six points,\u201d Atletico coach Simeone said afterwards. \u201cAt the end of the day we were punished because it wasn\u2019t enough.\u201d Atletico needed a two-goal swing and were upset at penalty appeals being turned down. \u201cI\u2019ve never seen anything like it, to be honest, I think we should have been awarded two penalties,\u201d complained winger Giuliano Simeone, the coach\u2019s son.
\nOn Tuesday, already qualified Bayern Munich face Benfica and eliminated Auckland City take on Boca Juniors in Group C, with one more last 16 spot on the line. The English Premier League\u2019s Chelsea later tackle Esperance Tunis with the winners to progress alongside Flamengo, who face Los Angeles FC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MIAMI Inter Miami\u2019s Lionel Messi faces a tantalising reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-486399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n