Atletico Madrid revived their FIFA Club World Cup campaign with a crucial 3-1 victory over Seattle Sounders, boosting their hopes of progressing from Group B.
After a humbling 4-0 loss to PSG, Diego Simeone’s side responded with renewed urgency, opening the scoring through Pablo Barrios’ stunning first-time strike that crashed in off the crossbar.
The Spaniards dominated early proceedings, with Alexander Sørloth and Julian Alvarez testing the Sounders’ backline. Despite several missed chances, Atletico remained composed. Seattle, meanwhile, showed flashes of promise, and Danny Musovski forced a fine save from Jan Oblak.
Controversy briefly erupted when a penalty awarded to Atletico was overturned by VAR following a challenge on Giuliano Simeone.
Axel Witsel doubled Atletico’s advantage shortly after the break, heading home from close range. Albert Rusnak offered the Sounders a lifeline with a sharp finish, but Barrios quickly restored the two-goal cushion, capitalizing on slack defending from a long throw-in.
Though Jesus Ferreira had a late goal chalked off for offside, the outcome was sealed. With this defeat, Seattle suffer three consecutive home losses for the first time since 2011, while Atletico gear up for a decisive showdown against Botafogo. Barrios was named Flashscore’s Man of the Match.