Antoine Griezmann scores ‘Olimpico’ goal as Atlético Madrid beats Real Betis 2-1
By George Ramsay, CNN
Antoine Griezmann scored twice, including directly from a corner, as Atlético Madrid defeated Real Betis 2-1 on Sunday to move up to third in Spain’s La Liga.
After a goalless first-half, Griezmann’s ‘Olimpico’ goal gave Atlético the lead when Rui Silva failed to gather his corner — minutes after Betis had seen Luiz Henrique’s effort disallowed for an offside in the build-up.
The French international scored his second through the legs of Silva after neat interplay with Ángel Correa and substitute Matheus Cunha.
Betis hit back through Nabil Fekir’s superb free-kick and almost drew level in stoppage time when Álex Moreno’s header hit the bar.
It was a frustrating end to the game for the home side, which is now fifth in La Liga — three points behind Atlético and 11 behind leader Real Madrid.
According to Atlético, Griezmann is now third in the club’s all-time scoring charts after Sunday’s game with 147 goals, behind Luis Aragonés on 172 and Adrián Escudero on 169.
The win means Diego Simeone’s side went unbeaten in La Liga in October and next plays Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday, where it needs a win to stay in contention for a place in the knockout stage of the competition.
Griezmann signed a new contract with Atlético earlier this month having played on loan from Barcelona since the summer of 2021 — ending a strange period of time when the 31-year-old star forward was primarily used as a second-half substitute.
In 11 games for Atlético between August 15 and October 8, Griezmann only started three matches — in the other eight he came on as a substitute on the hour mark or just after.
According to the Guardian, Griezmann’s loan from Barcelona meant there were restrictions around the number of times he could play more than 45 minutes in a match, otherwise Atlético would have to purchase the French international and pay the Catalan club $39.2 million (€40 million).
He scored three goals prior to signing the new contract on October 10, and since then has netted three times in four games. Griezmann was in Atlético’s starting 11 for the last four matches.
The new contract keeps him at Atlético until June 2026.
Elsewhere, Barcelona continued its good form this season with a comfortable 4-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao.
Goals from Ousmane Dembélé, Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski inside the opening 22 minutes gave Barcelona a commanding lead, before Ferrán Torres completed the rout in the second half.
Lewandowski’s first-half effort, which came after a brilliant run from Dembélé, took the Polish striker to 12 goals in La Liga this season — five more than any other player.
Barça is now three points behind Real Madrid, its only defeat in the league coming in El Clásico earlier this month.
The-CNN-Wire
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