PSG stunned by Botafogo in Club World Cup upset

PASADENA, United States — Paris Saint-Germain suffered a shock 1-0 Club World Cup defeat against Brazilian side Botafogo on Thursday (Friday Manila time) in a hard-fought battle between the reigning champion of Europe and South America.

A first-half goal from Brazilian international Igor Jesus proved the difference as Botafogo all but sealed a place in the knockout rounds in front of a 53,699 crowd at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

French champions PSG is widely regarded as one of the favorites for FIFA's 32-team tournament after a dazzling season that culminated with a scintillating 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in the Champions League final last month.

But the team’s hopes of securing a victory, which would have seen it become the first side to reach the last 16, were stymied by a resilient performance from its opponents from Rio de Janeiro.

"A lot of people wondered, but we showed how strong Botafogo is," goalscorer Jesus said after the win. "It was a difficult game, and we had to defend well, and we did our job and scored a goal.

"We're really happy — we knew how important this game was. One team was the champion of the Champions League, the other team was the champion of South America," added Jesus, who had been strongly linked with a move to English Premier League side Nottingham Forest earlier this year before opting to stay with the Brazilians to play in the Club World Cup.

"I think I made the right choice to stay in Botafogo," Jesus quipped.

Paris Saint-Germain picked up where they had left off in Sunday's 4-0 Group B rout of Atletico Madrid, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia testing Botafogo goalkeeper John with an early curling effort after just two minutes.

But that early effort was as close as PSG came to scoring in a scrappy first half punctuated by a series of niggling fouls that prevented the European champion from settling into their passing game.

Botafogo's midfield trio of Marlon Freitas, Gregore and Allan worked tirelessly to close down Vitinha, denying the skillful PSG playmaker time and space to launch attacks despite dominating possession.

Instead, it was Botafogo who took the lead with a goal against the run of play on 36 minutes.

Jefferson Savarino's perfectly weighted through ball split the PSG defense and sent Jesus racing through on goal.

The Botafogo striker did brilliantly to wrong-foot the covering Willian Pacho before sweeping a shot that took a slight deflection past PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on its way into the net.

PSG continued to dominate possession through the second half, and spent long periods camped in the final third.

But Botafogo's defense held firm, and the result leaves the Brazilians firmly on course for the last 16, with a final group game against Atletico Madrid to come in Pasadena on Monday (Tuesday Manila time).