Seattle Sounders – Atlético Madrid: Seattle Sounders Slide Closer Towards The Exit Door (1-3)

The Club World Cup journey could have been over for these two teams without a win. That fate fired up the guests, whose quality kept a safe distance on the scoreboard from start to finish.

Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

Atlético Madrid have been one of the bastions of Spanish football under Diego Simeone. But their trophy haul has looked lean in recent years, failing to add major honors to their cabinet since their last La Liga title in 2021. Quests for the Champions League and Copa del Rey ran aground by April, and this tournament is their next bid at ending that drought. Having beaten PSG in November, they fell to a 4-0 loss against the new continental champions last weekend. Now, they had to get off the mark.

Similarly, the Seattle Sounders started this showdown with a sense of urgency. Victors in the final of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League, they would have wanted to make the most of being in familiar territory. But as hosts of their first fixture in the group, the team walked away with no points on the board after a 2-1 loss . . .