Atletico eliminated from Club World Cup as PSG, Botafogo advance
The first European heavyweight has fallen at the Club World Cup.
Atletico Madrid's campaign ended in the group stage Monday despite beating Brazilian and South American champions Botafogo with a late Antoine Griezmann goal at the Rose Bowl.
Paris Saint-Germain beat Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders 2-0 in a concurrent Group B fixture, meaning the Champions League holders finished first in the quartet and reached the last 16. Botafogo took second place and will join PSG - the team they stunned with a 1-0 victory last Thursday - in the knockout rounds.
Group B
| # | Team | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris Saint-Germain | +5 | 6 |
| 2 | Botafogo | +1 | 6 |
| 3 | Atletico Madrid | -1 | 6 |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders | -5 | 0 |
Atletico Madrid expressed displeasure at some of the officiating during Monday's match, but with 23 shots and a squad that's worth over three times more than Botafogo's roster, according to Transfermarkt, it was a game that Diego Simeone's side should've won comfortably.
Atleti were smashed 4-0 by PSG in their group opener before they won 3-1 against Seattle in their second outing.
"We're frustrated that we didn't qualify - we had six points," Atletico coach Simeone said. "At the end of the day we were punished because it wasn't enough.
"I'm proud of the work of my guys. We played our hearts out; we won two games but unfortunately we are not going through."