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.”
Griezmann scores 200th Atletico goal in 5-1 win over Frankfurt
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Griezmann scores 200th Atletico goal in 5-1 win over Frankfurt
- 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
Mbappe double at Villarreal takes Real Madrid top of La Liga
VILA-REAL, Spain Kylian Mbappe netted twice to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday and take his side to the top of La Liga.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s team moved two points clear of arch-rivals Barcelona, who host bottom-of-the-table Real Oviedo on Sunday.
La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited Villarreal side, who are now fourth.
Arbeloa’s side have won three consecutive matches across all competitions and victory at Villarreal could be a vital step in the revival of their season.
After the shock Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Albacete in Arbeloa’s first match at the helm just 10 days ago after replacing Xabi Alonso, his Madrid have started to take shape.
The coach has made clear how important his star players are and none has been more crucial this season than French superstar Mbappe, who has netted 34 times across all competitions.
Mbappe and Vinicius Junior “are the best players in the world, they are players who can really unbalance teams, we try to get the ball to them as much as possible,” Arbeloa told Real Madrid TV.
“They’re two players who... I’m really happy to have in this state of form and above all, because of the great work they are doing.
“They are really committed to the team, they are the first who are pressing... they’re giving this effort and solidarity that we need from them, so I’m very happy that their reward comes in the form of goals.”
It was a lively but imprecise start at Villarreal’s Estadio de la Ceramica, as the game glowed but neither side was able to seriously threaten.
Georges Mikautadze lashed a volley narrowly wide after veteran forward Gerard Moreno found him with a floating cross.
At the other end, Madrid midfielder Arda Guler fired straight at Villarreal stopper Luiz Junior after some tidy footwork, and then shot high over the bar at the end of a swift break.
Villarreal’s Juan Foyth limped off hurt in a blow for the hosts, who created a good chance for Pape Gueye just before the break.
The Senegal midfielder, a champion at the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend, powered narrowly wide of the post.
Vinicius, who excelled in Madrid’s 6-1 Champions League rout of Monaco in midweek, also came close with a rasping effort that sailed across Luiz Junior’s goal and wide.
The 25-year-old Brazil forward went a 13th straight La Liga match without scoring, but was involved as Mbappe found the net two minutes into the second half.
- ‘Nightmare for defenses’ -
Vinicius came into the box from the left flank and his low cross was blocked but Mbappe was on hand to squeeze home his 20th league goal of the campaign from close range.
“They are a nightmare for defenses,” said Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. “I hope they can keep bringing joy.”
Villarreal had the better of the second half as they worked hard to pull level, but Moreno spurned their best chance by firing inches over when well-placed.
In stoppage time, Mbappe was felled clumsily by Alfonso Pedraza in the box and the French forward cheekily dinked home the resulting penalty to seal Madrid’s victory.
Mbappe’s team-mate Brahim Diaz, who missed a similar attempted Panenka penalty for Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final, was on the pitch to see it as he returned to action for his club.
“For you,” Mbappe appeared to say to Diaz during the celebration, indicating it was a gesture of support.
“For me, the most important thing is that are united, we saw it last Wednesday with Vinicius’s goal and we saw it again today, with Brahim,” Arbeloa told reporters.
The Yellow Submarine are now 10 points behind leaders Madrid, having played one fewer match than Arbeloa’s side.
“We have to be a bit more accurate in attack against these kinds of teams,” admitted Villarreal midfielder Alberto Moleiro.
Elsewhere, fifth-placed Espanyol fell to a 3-2 defeat at Valencia that left them seven points behind Villarreal.
