Real Madrid's crushing loss to Paris Saint-Germain showcases long-lasting imbalance of Los Blancos' roster

Real Madrid lost 4-0 to Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals of the Club World Cup on Wednesday, officially ending this season without a trophy

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – It is incredibly easy to build hype around a clash between the last two winners of the UEFA Champions League, to the point that the ancillary parts of the experience, like a roaring crowd and an excessive amount of fireworks for a weekday afternoon, are almost proof of prestige. The fanfare was fleeting, though, as Paris Saint-Germain notched a 4-0 win over Real Madrid in the Club World Cup semifinals on Wednesday in one of the competition's most lopsided matches.

Luis Enrique's side sucked the energy out of MetLife Stadium, host to a pro-Madrid crowd, with Fabian Ruiz's sixth minute goal. Ousmane Dembele added another in the ninth and Ruiz completed a brace in the 24th. There was some shock value in PSG's quickness but by the time the halftime whistle was accompanied by boos from the Madrid faithful, the lopsided result did not come as a surprise. When Enrique described PSG and Madrid as teams in "two very different situations" on Tuesday, he may not have meant that a lopsided win was in the cards, but it was not hard to envision one. PSG are in the habit of overwhelming opponents and pummeling them along the way, as their 5-0 win over Inter in the Champions League final on May 31 exemplifies. It meant that an obviously imperfect Madrid, honestly, stood no chance.

There are new names in the mix for Los Blancos, chief among them manager Xabi Alonso and their Club World Cup breakout player Gonzalo Garcia, but the issues are still the same. While PSG personify consistency, demolishing titans of the game like Inter and Madrid and minnows like Inter Miami with equal efficiency, Los Blancos exude imbalance. The inability to find stability cost them time and time again this season and has now resulted in their first trophyless season in four years and makes their problems harder and harder to ignore.