Atlético Madrid kept their hopes of reaching the FIFA Club World Cup knockout stages alive with a 3-1 win over Seattle Sounders, who are now close to being eliminated after losing three home games in a row for the first time since March 2011.
After a heavy 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético were keen to respond and started brightly. They created early chances through Alexander Sørloth and Julián Alvarez, and it didn’t take long for them to score. Pablo Barrios struck a superb first-time shot that hit the underside of the bar and went in. Sørloth missed a great chance to make it 2-0, and Jan Oblak had to make a smart save at the other end to stop Danny Musovski, in what was an exciting first 20 minutes.
Sørloth’s luck didn’t improve as he was denied in a one-on-one by Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei. The Sounders pushed back and thought they had given away a penalty when Reed Baker-Whiting was penalised for a challenge on Giuliano Simeone. However, after a VAR review, the decision was overturned and a drop-ball was given instead, which caused some controversy. Atlético were frustrated not to be further ahead at half-time, and Seattle nearly equalised when Baker-Whiting fired just wide from distance.
After the break, substitute Axel Witsel gave Atlético breathing room, heading in from close range after a parried shot fell kindly to him via Robin Le Normand. But Seattle hit back when Albert Rusnák scored from close range following a defensive mix-up, cutting the lead to 2-1.
Their hopes were short-lived though. A long throw into the box wasn’t cleared, and the ball fell to Barrios who scored his second of the game with a simple finish past Frei. Seattle thought they had a late goal when Jesús Ferreira scored, but it was ruled out for offside.
Despite showing good effort, Seattle lacked the quality to match Atlético. They’ve now conceded at least two goals in each of their last four games. The Sounders face PSG next, while Atlético will take on Botafogo in a key match to decide who progresses.
