VIDEO: Real Madrid's comedy of errors! Antonio Rudiger & Raul Asencio BOTH make catastrophic mistakes to gift PSG early two-goal lead in Club World Cup semi-final

For the opening goal, Fabian Ruiz found himself in the right place at the right time to calmly finish from close range after Raul Ascensio was robbed of possession by an alert Ousmane Dembele inside the box. Just minutes later, PSG doubled their advantage. This time, Antonio Rudiger was sloppy and Dembele pickpocketed him, too. With acres of space ahead of him, the Frenchman sprinted towards goal and with supreme composure, he slotted the ball past Thibaut Courtois to make it 2-0.

Rudiger and Ascensio's errors were emblematic of Madrid’s defensive instability throughout the first half. The absence of young centre-back Dean Huijsen, suspended after his red card in the quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund, was felt keenly as Alonso's men looked disorganised and unsure with the ball at their feet.

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This fixture marked the earliest Madrid have conceded three goals in a match since a 2003 clash against Sevilla, a stat that underlined the extent of the defensive collapse. The usually-composed Courtois found himself picking the ball out of the net for a third time before the half-hour mark after Ruiz scored his second of the afternoon after Achraf Hakimi fed him with a delicious pass.

As the match began slipping away, cameras shifted focus to Luka Modric on the Madrid bench. The Croatian midfielder, a club icon in the twilight of his career, appeared contemplative as this could be his last match in Madrid colours unless Los Blancos turn up the heat in the second half. But based on the evidence from the first 30 minutes, PSG are in no mood to surrender their grip on the game.