Good news for Atlético de Madrid at Club World Cup... followed by not so good ones. Atlético did what they needed to do and beat Seattle Sounders 3-1, with two goals by Pablo Barrios. Even if the match was even, Atleti managed to avoid early disaster.
However, a few hours later, the other match of Group B ended in a way nobody expected: Brazilian club Botafogo beat PSG 1-0. The Brazilian side, most recent Libertadores champion, only held 25% ball possession. But a rock solid defence cancelled all 16 shots from PSG, who only shot on target twice.
Instead, Igor Jesus Maciel da Cruz was enough to make Botafogo the only team to win their first two games so far. That is very worrying for PSG, who though themselves unbeatable, but worse news for Atleti because of goal average.
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Why does Botafogo victory is very bad news for Atleti?
Atlético de Madrid faces Botafogo in the next match (Monday, 23 June, 20:00 BST, 21:00 CEST). In the likely case that PSG wins against Seattle Sounders, taking place at the same time, Atleti needs to win Botafogo, and only a victory works. That would leave the three teams with six points (2 wins, 1 loss). Thus, the order would be decided via goal average, and Atleti, who suffered a 4-0 in their match against PSG, are lacking in that department.
Currently, Botafogo has a goal average of 2, PSG oof 3, and Atleti -2. Thus, even if Atleti beats Botafogo, they would need to win by a difference of three goals to rank better than the Brazilian. If PSG wins Seattle, they would likely be group leaders.
In the case of a draw between PSG and Seattle, Atleti would still be obligated to win Botafogo, although it wouldn't matter by how many goals. Only if PSG loses to Seattle Atleti could afford a draw against Botafogo, and in that case PSG would be eliminated from the competition. None of them can speculate, and both matches take place at the same time next Monday...