Pablo Barrios scores twice as Seattle Sounders fall 3-1 to Atlético Madrid in FIFA Club World Cup

SEATTLE - Pablo Barrios scored a pair of goals for European powerhouse Atlético Madrid in a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders in the second match of the FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday afternoon.

Barrios scored in the 11th and 55th minutes as Atlético showed their class in pulling away from the Sounders. Albert Rusnák scored the lone goal for Seattle, and Stefan Frei made four saves in the effort.

Atlético just had a little bit more across the board that the Sounders were unable to match over 90 minutes.

"The thing that our players learned in these last two games is the intensity is just a little notch higher," head coach Brian Schmetzer said.

Frei had to make a save on a header from Norwegian striker Alexander Sørloth in the 4th minute. They briefly survived again minutes later as Atlético star Julián Alvarez had a clean look at goal only to direct a shot off the right post and out.

However, the pressure finally cracked Seattle a minute later as winger Giuliano Simeone made a strong run up the right side and found an open Barrios for a finish that rattled off the crossbar and into the goal for a 1-0 Madrid lead.

The Sounders got a couple fortunate breaks and Frei made a few key saves in goal to keep the game within reach at the half.

Frei made two saves on Sørloth in the half, including a gem in the 26th minute to deny a chance in close.

A replay review in the 36th minute also kept Seattle from facing a penalty kick by Alvarez. Reed Baker-Whiting was called for a foul in the box against Simeone as the winger tried to race around the Sounders defender. However, the foul was reviewed and waved off by referee Yael Falcón Pérez.

Seattle did create a few chances of their own before the break.

Danny Musovski had a shot deflected wide of the net by goalkeeper Jan Oblak in the 17th minute. Cristian Roldan had a blast blocked in front of the goal in the 21st minute, and another sailed high in the 33rd, and Baker-Whiting had a chance at goal in the final minute of stoppage time in the first half that also sailed high of the net.

But just two minutes into the second half, Atlético extended their lead. A blast from Marcos Llorente beat Frei and deflected off the crossbar. Robin Le Norman corralled the loose ball, slipped a pass by a scrambling Frei for an easy header into goal by halftime substitute Axel Witsel for a 2-0 lead.

"Stef has saved our butts like hundreds of times, but now we need to repay the favor," Schmetzer said. "Now our defenders need to get to that rebound first and clear the ball out and do what we need to do."

As they did against Botafogo on Sunday, the Sounders did push back.

Obed Vargas found some space to deliver a pass to Danny Musovski, whose header setup was buried by Albert Rusnák to cut the lead to 2-1 in the 50th minute.

Barrios found his second goal five minutes later to restore the two-goal advantage for Madrid. A long throw-in from the sideline came to Barrios off an attempted clearance header, and he effortlessly guided a shot into goal by Frei to make it a 3-1 Atlético lead.

"I thought, you know, the goals that we conceded, like coach said, they're fixable," Vargas said. "They were more mistakes on our part than, you know, they made a great play. Obviously, they finished the chances that they had, but maybe (if) we're a little bit sharper in those moments and the game finishes 1-1.

"Atlético is defensively, one of the best teams in the world, super organized, and the structure is amazing. Their intensity, the coach, everything. But I think you know the difference was that we give up those goals."

Roldan had a chance deflected for a corner kick from the right side of the box in the 67th minute. Kalani Kossa-Rienzi then had a look off the corner kick sequence that sailed high. In the 79th minute, Georgi Minoungou had a run up the right side and a bouncing ball found Jesus Ferreira, who beat Oblak only to be called for offsides.

Atlético ended up with a 57-43 advantage in possession as they controlled play for large stretches. While overall shots ended up nearly even at 16-15 in favor of Seattle, Madrid had seven shots on goal to four for the Sounders. The quality of the chances was also higher.

What's next:

Seattle will face UEFA Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in their final match of group play on Monday. PSG is set to face Botafogo at the Rose Bowl at 6 p.m. Thursday night in their second match of group play. With two losses, the Sounders' chances of advancing out of the group stage are now minimal.

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