It was an historic occasion on Saturday night at the Civitas Metropolitano, as Diego Simeone reached 613 games in charge, making him the manager to accumulate the most games at the club. It was only fitting that the games should be run by his chief lieutenant, as Antoine Griezmann inspired a 6-1 win over Sevilla.
Simeone has stuck by the Frenchman since his return, and Griezmann has repaid him with brilliant performances this season. He currently has 8 goals and 9 assists to his name, contributing directly to 45% of Atleti’s goals in La Liga this season, despite playing less than three quarters of the minutes.
As per Marca, he is just one assist away from setting his record for assists, after just 24 games. Previously he had managed 9 assists in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons at Atletico, before moving to Barcelona.
Griezmann provided a brilliant curling effort for his own goal, having laid the first one on for Memphis Depay in the first half. He would have broken his record on Saturday, had Alvaro Morata converted Griezmann’s delightful lofted pass, but the Spain international finished his rebound rather than first time.
For the first time in a while, the entire Atletico attack looked on song against Sevilla. However for much of 2023 and before, Griezmann has been the lone star going forward, sustaining Atleti. Currently, his €20m fee to make his return permanent from Barcelona is looking relatively cheap.
