Atlante to face Barcelona, beats Auckland at Club World Cup

December 13, 2009

CONCACAF champion Atlante earned a semifinal encounter with European counterpart FC Barcelona, getting a first-half goal from David Arreloa and cruising to a 3-0 victory over Auckland City on Saturday at the Club World Cup.

Christian Bermudez added a second-half goal and Lucas Silva tacked on another in injury time to send Atlante to the Wednesday clash against the perennial world club power.

The Mexican side dominated possession from the start and went ahead in the 36^th minute when Auckland City failed to clear a corner and the ball fell in the penalty area to Arreloa, who capitalized by sending the ball to the bottom corner.

Atlante continued to control the match in the second half with Rafael Marquez, who in the first half shot wide and had a chance saved by Auckland goalkeeperJacob Spoonley, was thwarted a third time by defender Ivan Vicelich in the 53^rd minute.

The Oceania champion then managed its best period, getting a shot from distance by Chad Coombes and a close-range effort from Adam Dickinson.

Bermudez, however, stifled the surge and doubled Atlante’s lead in the 69^th, getting the ball in the area and beating Spoonley a second time.

Silva replaced Santiago Solari in the 74^th minute and completed the victory with a goal in the first minute of injury time.

A victory over Barcelona would earn Atlante a berth in the title game against either the Asian champion Pohang Steelers of Korea Republic or Copa Libertadores winner Estudiantes of Argentina.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates

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