Pasadena: Pablo Barrios’ brace lifted Atletico Madrid to a 3-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders on Thursday night, getting the Spanish side’s Club World Cup campaign back on track.
Axel Witsel also scored as Atletico rebounded to victory at Seattle’s home field after it had begun action in Group B with a 0 -4 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in Southern California on Sunday.
Albert Rusnak scored after half-time for Seattle, which has lost twice in the event before its home supporters.
Atletico Madrid is tied for second in Group B with Paris Saint-Germain after the latter fell 0-1 to Botafogo later on Thursday. The Sounders, meanwhile, still have a slim chance of advancing to the knockout phase.
Barrios, 22, scored early in each half for the first brace of his senior club career.
His first goal put Atletico in front in the 11th minute to cap a furious start for the Spanish club.
Giuliano Simeone did much of the work, running onto a throughball into the right edge of the penalty area, cutting back to elude a defender and then dragging a low cross toward the penalty arc. Barrios met it in stride and hit a first-time, right-footed shot that rattled the underside of the crossbar on its way in.
Barrios’ second in the 55th minute was simpler, as he was permitted time and space to hit a half-volley past goalkeeper Stefan Frei after Seattle’s failure to clear Marcos Llorente’s long throw from the right.
Before half-time, Atletico had an apparent chance to double its lead from the penalty spot taken away after referee Yael Falcon Perez reversed his initial decision after a video review.
The sides then traded goals in the first five minutes of the second half.
In the 47th minute, Witsel headed home from inside the six-yard box in the resulting scramble after Frei pushed Llorente’s initial half-volley onto the crossbar. In the 50th minute, Rusnak scored from a similar range on a deflected shot after Atletico’s failure to deal with Seattle’s initial ball into the box. Agencies
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