- Simeone’s side needed to win by a margin of at least three goals on Monday
- Antoine Griezmann scored the game’s only goal late on but it was not enough
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Atletico Madrid have become the first major side to crash out of the Club World Cup despite beating Brazilian side Botafogo 1-0 in their final group match.
Diego Simeone’s men came into the clash at the Pasadena Rose Bowl needing a margin of victory of at least three goals, thanks in large part to a thumping 4-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in their tournament opener.
But the LaLiga side were unable to create chances against the Brazilians, who stunned the Champions League winners in their last match, and were all but assured of elimination as the match remained goalless with minutes left on the clock.
Second-half substitute Antoine Griezmann gave Atletico faint hope when he fired in at the back post in the 87th-minute but Botafogo saw out the rest of the match to secure qualification for the next round.
Botafogo will be joined in the round of 16 by PSG after their commanding 2-0 win over MLS outfit Seattle Sounders saw them top Group B.
They could be set for a reunion with former star Lionel Messi, whose Inter Miami side currently sit second in Group A ahead of their final match against table-toppers Palmeiras.
As for Atletico, they have been left to rue their failure to show their best form in the United States – though much of the early reflections of their campaign centred on several contentious decisions that went against them.
In their opener, with the score 2-0 in PSG’s favour, Simeone’s men were aggrieved to see a Julian Alvarez goal chalked off for a foul in the build-up. On Monday, the Argentine was again at the centre of events when he was fouled in the area.
Referee Cesar Ramos reviewed the incident following the advice from the VAR but awarded the Brazilian side a free-kick for a push by Atletico forward Alexander Sorloth which occurred immediately before the foul on Alvarez.
‘Everyone told us it was a penalty,’ midfielder Marcos Llorente told DAZN post-match. ‘It sucks, because it would have been a different match.’
Griezmann was more magnanimous in his assessment, adding: ‘Clearly the referees went against us in this tournament, but sometimes they favour us and we don’t say anything. It’s more of a football issue inside our team.’
