MADRID: Antoine Griezmann scored his 200th goal for Atletico Madrid as they secured their first Champions League win of the season with a 5-1 home victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday after Julian Alvarez also netted twice.
Playing without suspended manager Diego Simeone after his red card in their 3-2 opening defeat at Liverpool, Atletico took charge from the start, buoyed by a fervent home crowd still celebrating Saturday’s 5-2 derby thrashing of Real Madrid.
Atletico opened the scoring after four minutes through Giacomo Raspadori, who capitalized on a loose ball in the box after the defense failed to clear an Alvarez effort from a Giuliano Simeone cross, leaving the former Napoli striker unmarked at the edge of the six-yard box.
Griezmann missed a gilt-edged chance midway through the first half, slicing a volley from close range and immediately falling to his knees in disbelief.
But Robin Le Normand extended Atletico’s lead in the 32nd minute, firing home the rebound after Griezmann’s back-heeled effort from a corner was saved.
Griezmann eventually reached his milestone with a strike from close range in first-half stoppage time, celebrating with an Atletico shirt bearing “200” on the back as the club’s record goalscorer.
Alvarez provided the assist with a brilliant run past two defenders before serving the ball on a plate for the French forward to score.
Frankfurt threatened a comeback when Jonathan Burkhardt’s deflected effort wrongfooted keeper Jan Oblak in the 57th minute but Giuliano Simeone restored a three-goal cushion with a clever near-post header from a corner two minutes after Griezmann had a second goal ruled out for handball in the build-up.
Alvarez completed the rout in the 82nd minute, chipping home a penalty after VAR spotted a handball by Robin Koch that the referee initially missed, sealing a comprehensive victory that sets up a mouth-watering clash at Arsenal in three weeks’ time.
“I have enjoyed a lot this evening, it’s a great feeling. I’m very proud to have reached the 200-goal mark,” Griezmann told Movistar Plus. “It’s been tough but together we’ve managed to achieve it.
“The team is in good form. The comeback against Rayo (Vallecano in a 3-2 LaLiga win last Wednesday) did us good. We’re on a roll and we have to keep it up. We’re pressing hard, being aggressive and setting a fast pace for the game.
“That’s our strength, our style of football, and we have to keep it up. We want to score goals and not concede. We always want more.”