It took nearly the entire second half, but Antoine Griezmann’s constant efforts on goal paid off in the 87th minute on Monday.
Atlético Madrid defeated Botafogo 1-0 in Group B of the Club World Cup in Pasadena, California, after a defender blocked Ángel Correa’s attempt. Griezmann scored with a left-footed strike.
Unfortunately, it was insufficient to progress the Spaniards to the knockout rounds, as Atlético Madrid required a win by at least three goals to proceed. The top two teams in the group are Paris Saint-Germain, which defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0 on Monday, and Botafogo, who overcame PSG earlier this week.
Griezmann’s Late Strike Secures Win for Atlético Madrid
Botafogo had a golden opportunity to strike first in the tenth minute when Jefferson Savarino received a through pass and ran for a goal. Atlético Madrid’s goalkeeper, Jan Oblak, stretched out to keep the game scoreless.
Just before halftime, Julián Alvarez came close to putting Atlético Madrid ahead. The forward received a ball just outside the area, turned, and fired a right-footed shot, but it went wide.
Early in the second half, Atlético Madrid applied further pressure on Botafogo, with Griezmann attempting a left-footed shot by the near post that caromed off the post and out of play.
Botafogo went on the offensive in the 67th minute when Cuiabano lofted a cross into the box for Igor Jesus to head home the first time. Oblak was there again, punching the attempt away to keep a clean sheet.
Atlético Madrid had multiple opportunities to extend their lead following Griezmann’s late strike, but Botafogo continued to prevent the Spaniards.
PSG 2-0 Seattle Sounders
In the other Group B game, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored in the first half, Achraf Hakimi in the second, and PSG defeated the Seattle Sounders 2-0 to go to the round of 16.
Gianluigi Donnarumma kept his second clean sheet of the tournament in front of the Sounders’ home fans, making no saves as PSG finished their Group B campaign and recovered from a 1-0 loss to Botafogo on Thursday.
PSG will face Inter Miami in a second-round match on Sunday in Atlanta, Georgia after Palmeiras claimed Group A’s top spot from the Florida hosts.
Seattle (0-3-0, 0 points) became the second MLS team to be eliminated following LAFC’s departure, falling 1-0 to ES Tunis in Group D on Thursday.
Hakimi’s goal came on a quick counter, following one of the Sounders’ finest chances. Bradley Barcola eventually slalomed into the penalty area from the left and found Hakimi on the opposite side of the box.
Hakimi had time to compose himself before sending in a powerful finish from approximately 10 yards out.
As expected, PSG took the majority of the early opportunities. Désiré Doué’s shot pushed Stefan Frei into a scrambling save in the 12th minute.
The Sounders had some success pressing high and nearly took a shock lead in the 19th minute after turning PSG over at the edge of their box. However, Jesús Ferreira’s rushed shot went well high of the target.
The Parisians were fortunate with their 35-minute breakthrough. Vitinha’s original effort from the edge of the penalty area through traffic appeared to go wide of the right post. Instead, it struck Kvaratskhelia’s back, sending it neatly inside the upright before Frei could react.
Inter Miami: 2-2 Palmeiras
Palmeiras rallied from two goals behind to tie 2-2 with Inter Miami on Monday at Hard Rock Stadium, securing both teams’ spots in the round of 16.
Tadeo Allende and Luis Suarez scored to put Miami on track for a second surprise victory in the tournament following their success over Porto.
However, the Brazilians scored twice in the final ten minutes through Paulinho and Mauricio to earn a tie and secure first place in Group A.
Inter Miami will face European champions PSG in the round of 16, while Palmeiras, who finished ahead of the locals on goal difference, will face Botofogo.
Lionel Messi, who turns 38 on Tuesday, will face his former team, PSG, for the first time since joining Miami in 2023.
Palmeiras rallied late in the game, with Paulinho scoring in the 80th minute and Mauricio levelling in the 87th to wipe away Luis Suarez’s magnificent individual performance.
After setting up Tadeo Allende in the first half, the Uruguayan doubled Miami’s lead in the 65th minute with a goal that echoed his career best.
Suarez, 38, scored after taking a pass from the left and using his body to deflect Lucas Evangelista’s challenge before driving toward and cutting back across defender Bruno Fuchs.
Although Fuchs pushed the ball with an outstretched heel, Suarez maintained control, sorted his feed, and sent a powerful half-volley past Weverton into the near top corner.
In the 16th minute, Allende scored one of the tournament’s most direct goals, putting Miami up. Federico Redondo cleared the ball from his penalty area, prompting Suarez to retire from the centre circle.
Suarez passed the ball to Allende, who was running across the midfield line into open space. With Palmeiras defender Murilo appearing to injure his hamstring during the chase, Allende had plenty of time on the break to gather himself before hitting a precise, low finish beyond Weverton.
Paulinho cut Palmeiras’ deficit in half after running onto Allan’s excellent diagonal ball into the area and finishing into the bottom left corner just ahead of Benjamin Cremaschi’s challenge.
Seven minutes later, Mauricio blasted home a powerful finish low with his first touch after reacting quickest to Marcelo Weigandt’s headed partial clearing, and Palmeiras held on for the draw.
Porto 4–4 Al Ahly
Inter Miami and Palmeiras both earned a point, ensuring that the other two teams in Group A, Al Ahly and Porto, were eliminated despite a thrilling 4-4 draw at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Porto’s Pepe scored an 89th-minute equaliser to cap a frantic contest on Monday after Wessam Abou Ali scored three goals for Al Ahly and Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane scored the Egyptian club’s fourth.
But Porto went punch for punch, drawing level four times. With time running down, Pepe received a pass from Gabri Veiga and fired a right-footed shot from above the penalty area that beat Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy.
Porto’s Rodrigo Mora, William Gomes, and Samu Aghehowa all scored, and Claudio Ramos saved six of Al Ahly’s 12 shots on goal.
However, the thrilling game proved to be the last of the competition for both sides, as they each went home without a win.
Abou Ali started his high-scoring game with a sharp-angle shot from the left side of the six-yard box that went in off the post.
He gave Al Ahly a 2-1 halftime lead with a penalty kick into the bottom left corner of the net. Then, only one minute after Gomes tied the game, Abou Ali scored his third goal with a header off Mohamed Hany’s pass.
Aghehowa did not wait long to make it 3-3 with his header, leaping and powering one in off a Fabio Vieira corner kick.
Ben Romdhane scored in the 64th minute with a right-footed shot from the top of the 18-yard box, assisted by Achraf Bencharki, before Pepe sealed the deal.
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