Griezmann, fourth athletic who sees the red after scoring in Europe

Antoine Griezmann was the great protagonist of the game against Liverpool. The Frenchman was reunited with the goal in front of his fans after his return to the club (he had already scored in Milan), getting a double to tie a game that the English had started with great intensity and placing a 0-2 that was scary, but that Atlético managed to equalize with through its European top scorer.

The rojiblanco ‘8’ took advantage of a Koke shot in the area to put his foot and divert it to the net and subsequently a great move by João Félix to leave Van Dijk with precious control and finish with a cross shot against an Alisson who could not stop his great shot as he had done before in a heads up. However, when the fans were devoted to their striker, an attempt at control turned into a direct red after hitting the sole of his boot in Firmino’s face. An involuntary action and without having noticed the presence of the Brazilian at any time, but with a dangerousness that received the maximum punishment by the German referee.

Griezmann left in the 51st minute crestfallen for leaving his team with one less, although he received the first great ovation from the stands on his return to Atlético. The Frenchman became the first rojiblanco player to get a double in Europe and was sent off in the same match. Of course, three myths of the club do know what it is to see a red with Atlético in European competition after having scored. The last, a Fernando Torres who on April 5, 2016 had overtaken the mattress team at the Camp Nou taking advantage of an assist from Koke and who was sent off at 36 minutes seeing the second yellow in a foul that seemed inconsequential in the center of the field.

Barça came back with one more the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals (2-1), but Atlético managed to turn it around at the Vicente Calderón (2-0) to certify your pass to the semifinals of the top European competition. And another striker who is part of the club’s history, Kiko Narváez, saw the direct red in the UEFA Cup against Lens in a match in which Atlético was removed from the tournament. It was on March 9, 2000, when the rojiblanca season was already heading for disaster. The forward had put the momentary 3-2, but after the quarter of the French club he lost his nerves and saw the direct red in the last moments for aggression. Finally, Luiz Pereira scored Atlético’s goal against Dinamo Bucharest in the European Cup on September 15, 1977, but the Brazilian was sent off for a direct red card after 81 minutes of a match that the colchoneros ended up losing 2-1.