French forward Antoine Griezmann could not have hoped for a better run of form ahead of his team’s crunch La Liga clash against leaders Barcelona.
Flying High
Atletico Madrid superstar heads into the Sunday’s match with his confidence boosted by two superb performances in Los Colchineros’ last two league games and will be hoping to extend his run of form at a crucial moment of the season.
Former Real Sociedad frontman will be looking to give his team a late push in the title race with Atletico Madrid currently sitting five points behind the Catalan giants who made life for themselves more difficult with a 1-1 slump at Las Palmas on Thursday.
Atletico Madrid, on the other side, are coming off from a sensational 4-0 romp of Leganes a day before, in a match which saw Antoine Griezmann score all four goals for his team. Griezmann’s sensational form was a ray of light on a rainy night in Madrid as Frenchman became the first player to bag successive La Liga hat-tricks.
With seven goals in last two league appearances, Griezmann also recorded another important milestone.
He joined the 100-goal club for Los Colchineros thanks to his remarkable haul at the same time becoming only the third player to reach the century of goals for the club in the 21st century – following Sergio Aguero (101) and Fernando Torres (124).
A Point to Prove
Heading over to Camp Nou, Antoine Griezmann will be hoping to extend his fantastic streak and put a definite end to a frustrating spell.
Antoine Griezmann endured somewhat a disappointing season at Atletico Madrid prior the goal glut displayed in last two matches. The Frenchman managed to almost reach his entire last season’s goal tally (16) with seven goals in last two games, but his entire campaign thus far has been marked by lack of consistency and growing rumours that he may leave the club at the end of the season.
The Frenchman even turned against the fans recently, after publicly criticising the supporters who had jeered him after his early-season struggles.
His display against Leganes was arguably Griezmann’s best performance in an Atletico Madrid shirt this season – maybe even his career as a whole. The Frenchman scored four brilliant goals, managed to hit the post and did a big part in helping his team defensively.
Atletico Madrid’s top scorer and top provider with seven assists as well will be desperate to score at Camp Nou in order to repair his relationship with the club supporters.
“I’m trying to make the fans happy.Maybe I made a few mistakes with my attitude but I haven’t been wrong on the field. I have never scored at Camp Nou. I really want to score and celebrate it on Sunday.”, Griezmann said.
Barcelona the Griezmann Future?
The match at Camp Nou will be particularly interesting from a couple of different angles.
And while Griezmann will be out to make amends with the fans and try to score his first-ever Camp Nou goal – for which he is given betting odds of 27/11 – the Frenchman will, many believe, will be keen to leave another impression on his future employers.
Widely expected to leave Madrid this summer, Griezmann was seen as the next big-name signing for Manchester United last year. This time, however, with Red Devils having already boosted their frontline with Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, the Catalan giants Barcelona have emerged as strong favourites to land the 26-year-old.
Griezmann is said to have already agreed on personal terms with Barcelona, who are expected to approach Atletico Madrid in effort to activate his €100 million release clause. The player himself is refusing to dwell on speculation.
“I want to enjoy this and my team, in La Liga, the Europa League and the World Cup. I don’t think about what can happen beyond this. I’m not saying that means I’m going to go, because I’ve been saying the same thing for four years and I’m still here.”, Griezmann said.
Bookmakers definitely think Frenchman will join the Catalans next summer with betting odds slashed to 1/2 on him to move to Camp Nou at the end of the season.
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