Too little, too late - Atletico Madrid win the battle but lose the war against Botafogo

The first big club to be eliminated from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is Atletico Madrid.

The Spanish side were knocked out of the competition on Monday despite winning their final Group B match 1-0 over Botafogo, who advance to the round of 16 along with group winners Paris Saint-Germain.

It's a cruel dichotomy for the Rojiblancos, who knew they had to win by three goals to keep their Club World Cup hopes alive but instead only won by a single Antoine Griezmann strike which came late enough in the match that everyone in the Rose Bowl knew it was too little, too late.

As such, Atleti finished tied on points with both PSG and Botafogo, but their inferior goal difference means they head home as the third-best team in the group.

Here are the key talking points from Atletico Madrid's futile victory over Botafogo, as seen by DAZN News.

Atletico Madrid vs Botafogo match highlights

What pressure?

If Atleti were under pressure to put together a top-notch performance with a lot of goals, they certainly didn't show it on the pitch.

From the first kick, it was apparent that Botafogo would be the side that would play the more forward-thinking football, as they looked to get in behind the Atleti defence and did so on a few occasions in the early going.

FIFA

While the Brazilians didn't find the back of the net, they still put Jan Oblak under pressure several times, and were level with Atleti in shots on target until late in the match when the Spanish side pushed for a late goal or three.

Griezmann the (sort of) hero

Antoine Griezmann started on the bench on Monday, and that was an error by manager Diego Simeone.

Dazn Media

The France international provided a boost from the moment he stepped on to the Rose Bowl grass, giving Atleti a different dimension in an otherwise stale and predictable attack.

It took the World Cup winner a few tries before finally scoring his goal, but Griezmann was consistently a thorn in the Botafogo defence's side and made Atleti much more threatening in attack. It's a shame he only had 45 minutes of action, as the game could've looked different had he started.

Botafogo unsatisfied

For a team that had just advanced to the round of 16, Botafogo weren't exactly celebratory after the match.

The Rio side famously defeated PSG 1-0 in their previous game and it seemed as though they were expecting a similar result on Monday.

(Getty Images)

That speaks to the competitiveness instilled into the side by manager Renato Paiva, who registered his disappointment in the performance in his post-match comments.

Given that they've already topped one European giant and took another to the brink, the Brazilian club will not lack the mentality to pull off another big result in the knockouts.

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