It was a holiday. The sun was shining and people were eager to celebrate.. Also Antoine Griezmann. The smiling Frenchman entered the Metropolitano wearing a Luis Aragonés shirt. An entrance reminiscent of NBA players with special outfits for big games.
The garment said, in addition to the name of the player with whom Grizzie shares the record of goals in the history of Atlético de Madrid with 173: “Win, win and win again”, one of the mottos of the Wise Man of Hortaleza. And that's where Atlético was after the defeat at San Mamés and the draw at home against Getafe.
But the Frenchman did not have any clear chance. Just a couple of shots from outside the area, which narrowly missed the goal defended by Dmitrovic. The Frenchman's smile diminished as the game went on and was completely erased in the 72nd minute.
Söyüncü had just been sent off when he had barely been on the field for five minutes, and Simeone decided that the epic of playing with 10, this time, was not Griezmann's turn.. “I feel responsible for what happened to him.. “He is very tall, very strong and always intends to anticipate and we did not give him the pace he needs,” Simeone commented on the Turk.
The Frenchman opened his arms asking for explanations before beginning his slow walk to leave the field.. He crossed paths with Simeone, who hit him in the chest and, without shaking his hand, went straight to the bench where he kicked a bottle that was in his way.. The tiebreaker with Luis had to wait for another game.
The one who did not want to wait a single appointment to vindicate himself was Rodrigo De Paul. The Argentine, with an extravagant hairstyle, decided to claim the prominence that he claims to have in the Argentine team and played with great hierarchy in the match against Sevilla.
The Argentine was happy about the return of Reinildo Mandava, precisely Griezmann's replacement, 10 months after his last game. “In the locker room he sits next to me, I saw how hard he worked, how many hours in there. It makes me very happy to see how he came back, how people have applauded him.. In this locker room, inside and outside with the fans, we adore him,” he expressed in the post-match interview.
A match in which Atlético returned to winning ways at home after Getafe cut short their streak of 20 consecutive victories at the Metropolitano. “It is a very good year, with 50 games of which we have only lost eight, we have won 34 and I think we have scored 104 goals. Now we have the second part of the season left,” said El Cholo.
The anecdote or negative gesture of the crash came from Sergio Ramos. The Sevilla center-back stepped on the Atlético de Madrid shield when jumping onto the pitch, much to the displeasure of the red and white fans who did not stop whistling at him throughout the match. This action contrasts with that of the Englishman Jude Bellingham who, when he retired after being defeated by the Real Madrid avoided stepping on the flag at the last moment.