“Of course, we will have to monitor him closely”. On the eve of the clash between his Paris Saint-Germain and Antoine Griezmann’s Atlético de Madrid, Wednesday November 6, Luis Enrique was full of praise for the former French international. “He is incredibly good in attack. He is very complete, very versatile. He has enormous footballing quality at the service of the team. Obviously, he is vital for Atlético”recognized the PSG coach at a press conference the day before the match, who nevertheless does not tend to dwell on individualities.
“Grizou” may have decided to slam the door on the French team, but the 33-year-old striker is still playing at a very high level. The No. 7 colchonero has not missed any of his team’s 16 matches this season and is the most decisive player with four goals and five assists. Will it be at the Parc des Princes? Antoine Griezmann will be driven by a feeling of revenge, one month after participating in his team’s incredible defeat against Lille (1-3) and three years after the elimination in the round of 16 of C1 against PSG. Date on which, his reputation as an executioner of French clubs took a hit.
2013: a bicycle that deprives OL of C1
Antoine Griezmann’s history of face-to-face matches with clubs in the French championship begins with a masterpiece against Olympique Lyonnais. On August 20, 2013, the native of Mâcon (an hour’s drive from Lyon) does not yet have the slightest cap in the selection and not the slightest experience in the Champions League. Under the colors of Real Sociedad, the club that trained and revealed him, he only needed 16 minutes to show that he belongs to a class of players apart.
On a cross from the left, the young 22-year-old striker with peroxide hair takes the ball with a memorable acrobatic return and captivates Gerland. He doesn’t know it yet but, with this goal, his team did the hardest part in this qualifying round for the C1. To be sure to taste the flavor of the competition, Antoine Griezmann was again decisive in the return match, eight days later in the Basque country, giving the decisive pass for Carlos Vela’s opener. OL will then have to be content with a Europa League campaign.
2018: merciless against OM in the C3 final
Five years pass between this double confrontation and the next meeting with a French club. And what an appointment! It was in the Europa League final that Antoine Griezmann crossed paths with Marseille on May 16, 2018. In the prime of his life, the man who would become world champion two months later walked on water. In this final played in Lyon, “Grizou” gives a lesson in efficiency to the Phocaeans.
When Valère Germain hits the stands at the very start of the match when he only has to adjust Jan Oblak, or when Kostas Mitroglou hits the post, he hits the mark every time. He doesn’t tremble to punish OM after a completely failed check from Franck Zambo-Anguissa, then it’s he who makes the break with a perfect dive after returning from the locker room. The match is over and the Colchoneros will even add to the score by winning 3-0.
2018: Monaco plunged into crisis
Returned to the same group as Monaco for the 2018-2019 Champions League campaign, Antoine Griezmann is stocking up on points with Atlético. On September 18, he was the decisive passer on Diego Costa’s equalizer which put the Colchoneros in the right direction, before their 2-1 success at Louis-II. Two months later, he welcomed a Rocher club without certainty and with a new coach on the bench, Thierry Henry having replaced Leonardo Jardim.
The expected shock did not take place and ASM lost 2-0 in Madrid, with a goal from Griezmann in complete relaxation, from the outside of the left. With this 4th setback in five days, Monaco is already saying goodbye to the round of 16 of C1 but also to a return to the Europa League.
2021: helplessness against PSG
Directly decisive in each of his first five matches against a French club, Antoine Griezmann experienced a setback in the round of 16 of the Champions League in spring 2021. It must be said that the double confrontation falls into the only real low point of his career, during his time at FC Barcelona (2019-2021). His Catalan adventure is also in its final months.
On February 16, during the first leg, Griezmann was one of the most dangerous Blaugranas but he wasted his three chances. He witnesses the collapse of his team, corrected 4-1 in a Camp Nou behind closed doors. That evening, Kylian Mbappé, author of a hat-trick, took all the spotlight. During the return match, “Grizou” struggled to exist. Lionel Messi’s exceptional cannon shot (and his missed penalty) or even Ousmane Dembélé’s eternal lack of realism come to the fore. Barça limits the damage (1-1) but is logically eliminated.
2024: not helped by his teammates against Lille
You don’t have to look very far to find traces of the most recent clash against a French club since it was Atlético’s last European outing, on October 23 against Lille (1- 3). At the Wanda Metropolitano, the Colchoneros had a particularly unsuccessful evening. Dominant and carried by a rather inspired Griezmann – his pressing played a role in opening the score – they missed far too many chances, with Alexander Sorloth in the lead.
Staying within shooting range, Losc ended up coming back to the score and even taking the advantage thanks to a penalty that was contentious to say the least. Antoine Griezmann has not found the solution and he is now 331 minutes without being directly decisive against a French club in European competition.
