Griezmann regains his smile

Griezmann is becoming Griezmann again. That superlative player who went to Barcelona with a enormous influence on Atlético’s offensive section and that hurt defenses due to the way they moved between the lines to constantly come into play with the ball. The Frenchman was dissolving on his arrival at the Blaugrana team, losing the ability to appear in matches, although maintaining that work and goal that he had exploited with Simeone.

But, the coach brought him back to Atlético to meet again and recover that level that served him to be Twice Bronze Ball at your command. “Looking at today’s game, we found the usual Griezmann. Working, insisting, looking for scoring chances, positioned, having chances to score and I think that’s the way we were looking to meet him. That it serves to continue working with the boys”, Explained Cholo at the conclusion of the match against Betis.

And, although he did not score as he had done in Milan, with his double against Liverpool or his header against Levante, so many with which Griezmann is already the team’s second top scorer after Luis Suárez (7), against Betis it was probably his most round match by participation, ability to harm the rival and deployment in favor of the team. Against Liverpool, their match was spoiled by a red in a completely involuntary action, but that weighed down the team playing 39 minutes with one less footballer and that will prevent him from being at Anfield, a very sensitive loss that joins that of Savic, who will finally finish his sanction, Lemar, Llorente and waiting for Kondogbia.

But returning to yesterday’s game, Griezmann was finding the best sensations in that forward of three that Simeone is promoting so much in the last games. Profiling to the left, he managed to penetrate with Correa to get inside the back of the Betis pivots and get into the game a lot between the lines, releasing Carrasco as a gang to do mischief with Montoya. Griezmann completed 30 of the 40 passes he attempted, 22 of them in the opposite half and left four key goal balls, although curiously the goal originated in his boots was the one that Pezzella scored in his own after a corner kick. But before, in that same play, the Frenchman had left Suárez hand in hand with Bravo. He also put in several very good centers for Giménez and another for Hermoso that became a goal annulled by centimeters.

Griezmann completed 90 minutes for the first time on his return and looked happy on the pitch. Worker as always, was measured in 14 duels with rival defenders, winning 57% of them. He also looked for a goal with a great right hand taking advantage of a connection with Correa that Bravo repelled with a stop. And if Griezmann is happy, the team notices it. Something that is also demonstrated off the field, where it is increasingly integrated into a wardrobe that had already been his, but where many faces have changed.

French has a relationship increasingly fluid with João Félix, that he can learn many things from how the new ‘8’ was evolving tactically in the team and maintains that deep friendship with Koke. Giménez commented that “at first he looked a bit shy, but his self is coming out from within and we need him like this to continue growing as a group ”. Simeone is recovering his Griezmann.