In Griezmann's four matches for Atletico Madrid this season, he has no goals, no assists and no shots on target.
Follow Us
Antoine Griezmann has been struggling for form on his second spell at Atletico Madrid. The Frenchman who returned to Metropolitano this summer after spending two seasons in Barcelona hasn’t managed to register a single shot on target this season so far. Diego Simeone’s side are the reigning La Liga champions but are struggling to score goals this season despite having the likes of Luis Suarez and Griezmann up front. The 1-0 defeat against bottom-placed Deportivo Alaves on Saturday was a testament to Atletico’s lack of form in the attacking department.
Griezmann returned to Atletico after an underwhelming time with the Catalan club. His transfer from Camp Nou has been a loan deal that will become permanent if he plays 50% of fixtures. Atletico are not only fielding the Frenchman’s GBP 26 million a season wage and are also obliged to pay Barcelona GBP 34 million to make his loan permanent, providing the conditions are met.
But the 30-year-old’s second stint with Atletico has been horrendous till now. In his four Atletico matches so far, he has no goals, no assists and no shots on target. In fact, Atletico as a team has also been struggling to score goals, managing to score only 9 goals in the opening seven games. Although Simeone’s side have been staying close to table toppers Real Madrid, their form has been far from convincing.
On his debut against Espanyol, Atletico managed to find the back of the net only after he was substituted. They won the match 2-1 courtesy of an 80th minute equalizer from Yannick Carrasco and a stoppage time winner from Thomas Lemar. That was followed by two goalless draws before a 2-1 win against Getafe, again the goals were scored only after Griezmann was withdrawn.
Atletico have played 315 minutes with him on the pitch, during which they haven’t managed to score while all nine goals were scored without him on the pitch. Simeone has been struggling to find the right combination as he is desperately trying to fit in Griezmann. In the last match, he played both Griezmann and Suarez together but it was a failure as the team managed to register only a single shot on target.
During Griezmann’s previous stint with Atletico, he was the main player in the team and the game plan revolved around him. He played mostly as a second striker and that’s where he was at his best. However, since moving to Barcelona in 2019 he was never used at his preferred position as a second striker and that is when his struggles began. He was either deployed at left or right of a three-man forward line.
Maybe, Griezmann will excel if he plays behind a physically bigger striker because with the French national team he did well alongside Olivier Giroud during the 2018 FIFA World Cup-winning campaign. Giroud is a tall striker, who uses his physical prowess very well to hold the ball and create opportunities for fellow forwards. However, at Atletico, Griezmann’s strike partner Suarez is a different kind of player who is more of a fox in the box therefore both of them are struggling to combine effectively.
“He [Griezmann] is in the process of adapting to the new Atletico, it’s not the same as the one he was at before, but we’re lucky to have him with us,” said Simeone, asking for fans to be patient.
The 30-year-old, despite spending his entire career in Spain has managed to win only one significant domestic title, that is the Copa de Rey trophy he won with Barcelona in 2021.
“I’m sure, I have no doubt that Griezmann will perform how we hope,” insisted Simeone. There is nobody better to motivate him than this coach, and next week his former side Barcelona are coming to town.
