For his first appearance in his former Wanda-Metropolitano stadium, Antoine Griezmann could not return the public in about thirty minutes, nor did he assume his status as a rookie superstar.
Spared by coach Diego Simeone and launched in the 56th minute in place of the Portuguese Joao Felix, the defector from FC Barcelona was whistled bluntly when he entered the game.
He started his game with three errors in judgment and one loss of the ball.
This certainly did not calm his detractors who regularly ransacked the plaque in his name installed on the esplanade of the stadium and who had already booed him during his return to Wanda, under the colors of Barça, in the fall of 2019 .
đŹ Griezmann experienced a rowdy reunion with AtlĂ©tico at Wanda Metropolitano https://t.co/gzwYGICfNS
- RMC Sport (@RMCsport) September 15, 2021
However, applause was heard over the minutes, despite some approximate ball catches from the French.
As in his first match under the Rojiblancas colors last weekend at Espanyol Barcelona in La Liga (2-1 success), âGrizouâ did not weigh on the match on Wednesday night.
But his entry into the game, combined with that of Angel Correa at the same time, however, allowed Atlético to accelerate the game of the Madrilenians and generate rare scoring chances.
The end of the game was also packed, until the exclusion of Chancel Mbemba (90th + 6) for a fault on Griezmann who went on goal.
"He has a big challenge in front of him"
âThey make a whole scandal of a situation which is summed up in the fact of having recovered an extraordinary player like Griezmann, underlined Simeone at the final whistle.
I hope it gets better and better, and that he can respond to all the people who criticize him at the moment.
He has a big challenge in front of him to win back the supporters.
"
For the rest, the meeting was generally quite flat.
The only events that disturbed his tranquility were a huge tackle in his own area from the former French international and now Central African Geoffrey Kondogbia (27th), the whistles supported by the Portuguese Pepe (33rd and 54th), former Real Madrid, the eternal neighbor rival of the Colchoneros.
And above all, two chills: a first after returning from the locker room with a very distant strike, from the right wing, from Otavio, who touched the inside of the post of Jan Oblak, the keeper without entering the Madrid cage (50th ).
Then a second, in the 80th, when Mehdi Taremi scored an opportunistic goal after a mess between Oblak and Kondogbia.
But the goal was canceled, the Iranian international having touched the ball with his right hand before it entered the Madrid cage.
In addition to the draw, the bad news of the evening for Atlético was the premature exit of its other French international Thomas Lemar: excellent since the start of the season, Lemar had to give up his place in the 36th, victim of "muscle pain" .
