- Pablo Barrios scored twice as Atletico Madrid beat Seattle Sounders 3:1 at Lumen Field
- Axel Witsel scored the second goal just after halftime before Barrios sealed the win
- Seattle’s Albert Rusnak briefly gave hope but his goal was not enough to avoid a second loss
Key Takeaways:
Atletico Madrid recorded a commanding 3:1 win over Seattle Sounders in a Group B match of the FIFA Club World Cup, played Thursday night at Lumen Field in Seattle. Spanish international Pablo Barrios was the standout figure for Rojiblancos scoring twice and underlining the superiority of the La Liga team over the MLS representative.
Barrios opened the scoring as early as the 11th minute following total pressure from Atletico in the early stages of the match. Until the end of the first half, the Spanish team missed several good chances, but the break came at 1:0.
¡Triunfo vital! pic.twitter.com/PHDBAyfDY7
— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) June 19, 2025
Just two minutes after the game resumed, Axel Witsel doubled Madrid’s lead. Marcos Llorente fired a strong shot that Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei parried, but the ball was sent back into the box, where Witsel headed it into the net.
Shortly after, in the 50th minute, Seattle got back in the game through Slovak playmaker Albert Rusnak, who capitalised on a scramble in the box to reduce the score to 2:1. That gave the American team a brief push, but only for a short while.
In the 57th minute, Barrios scored his second and Atletico’s third, which settled the match.
In the final round of the group, Atletico will face Botafogo, while Seattle will play against PSG.
In the current standings in Group B, Botafogo leads with 6 points, PSG and Atletico are second and third with 3 points each, while Seattle Sounders sit at the bottom with 0 and are almost certainly out of the tournament.