Atlético Madrid bounced from Club World Cup despite 1-0 win over Botafogo on Griezmann’s late goal

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Atlético Madrid was eliminated from the Club World Cup on goal differential Monday despite beating Botafogo 1-0 on Antoine Griezmann’s dramatic late goal.

Botafogo advanced from Group B along with Paris Saint-Germain. All three clubs finished group play with two wins and a loss, but Atlético’s 4-0 thrashing from PSG in its tournament opener eight days ago came back to haunt the Spanish giants.

Atlético kept steady pressure in the second half, and Julián Alvarez finally spun away from two tackle attempts and fired a long pass across the penalty area to halftime substitute Griezmann, who banged it home for his first goal of the tournament in the 87th minute.

Atlético knew that goal wasn’t enough to advance. Coach Diego Simeone’s group kept up the pressure, but couldn’t break through again.

Botafogo, the current champions of South America, did what was necessary to advance, limiting Atlético to one late goal despite a 23-7 disadvantage in shot attempts. Goalkeeper John made four saves.

PSG beat the Seattle Sounders 2-0 to win the group on goal differential, even though Botafogo stunned Champions League winners PSG 1-0 at the Rose Bowl four days earlier.

Botafogo had a strong counterattack all afternoon and nearly stole an early lead, but Jan Oblak stopped Jefferson Savarino’s breakaway in the 10th minute. Oblak also made a fingertip save on Igor Jesus’ exceptional deflection on net in the 67th minute.

Key moment

Alvarez was involved in two clashes in the Botafogo box in the first half, but neither resulted in a penalty. He fell when tackled by Jair Paula in the 25th minute, and he went down again near halftime when Gregore stepped on his foot at the top of the penalty area.

Takeaways

Botafogo was a few minutes away from winning all three matches in what might be the toughest group in the tournament, but Griezmann’s late goal didn’t undeservedly ruin an impressive three-game effort for the Brazilian giants and their raucous supporters.

Atlético got off to a slow start in the U.S., and it couldn’t rally quickly enough at the end. It’s a disappointment, but it also means an extra week or more of rest before the sport’s grind begins again in early August.

What they said

“Every refereeing decision in this tournament went against us. … We had the same number of points as the Champions League winner and Libertadores winner, but we missed out because of the match against PSG, where every decision always went against us. We’re close. We’re competing well, but we still need a little more.” —Simeone

“We can’t focus on the referee. Sometimes we’re not at our best, and we must address that.” —Griezmann

“If Renato Paiva had said back in Brazil that we would get through this group, I would have been criticized to the core by everyone, wouldn’t I? Now we did what no one expected. We have to thank the Botafogo fans, and we have to be proud for Brazilian football.” —Botafogo coach Renato Paiva

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