Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Football, FIFA Club World Cup
Marcus Chan
Topics: Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Football, FIFA Club World Cup
Atletico Madrid star Marcos Llorente was suffering in the extreme heat during the FIFA Club World Cup clash against Paris Saint Germain.
On Sunday, Atletico and PSG faced off at the Rose Bowl in California as they kicked off their Club World Cup campaign.
Freshly-crowned European champions PSG were a class above as they ran out 4-0 winners, thanks to goals from Fabian Ruiz, Vitinha, Senny Mayulu and Kang-in Lee.
The match was played under hot conditions as temperatures reportedly reached as high as 40 degrees under the sun with 60% humidity.
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Speaking after the defeat, Atletico man Llorente spoke about the conditions of the match.
As reported by Spanish news outlet MARCA, Llorente said: "We are adapting to the heat of playing at this time. No European team is used to competing with such high temperatures."
The Spaniard then stated that his toes and nails were hurting badly due to the heat.
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As claimed by Sudanalytics on social media, the midfielder added: "It's impossible. TERRIFYING HEAT. My toes hurt so badly, my nails hurt.
"I couldn't stop or start. Since it's the same for everyone, there's no complaint."
Despite being on the winning side, PSG boss Luis Enrique and midfielder Vitinha also mentioned the tricky conditions.
Enrique said: "The match was clearly influenced by the temperature. The time slot is great for European audiences, but the teams are suffering. In terms of play, it's impossible to perform at a very high level for 90 minutes,” he added, despite praising the club’s dominance."
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Vitinha added: "Of course, it's difficult. It's for both teams. It might be a bit harder for Atlético because they don't have the ball. For me, it's harder to run after the ball. It's hot here today at this time. I'm all red. It was really difficult, but we're trying to recover as much as possible because at this point in the season, it can be decisive."
More teams will be battling the brutal conditions in the coming days as the likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, Juventus and Manchester City all begin their bid to win the newly-revamped Club World Cup.
Madrid star Vinicius Jr warned: "It’s very hot. The game is at 3:00 p.m. and we have to be prepared because it's going to be very tough."
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Next time out, Atletico will be playing under nicer conditions as their next match is in Seattle, where the temperature is forecast to be around 19 degrees.