As we meet again ... Opponents this Tuesday (9 p.m.) in the Champions League, during the duel of the second day between AC Milan and Atlético Madrid, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann have not spawned together since .. Elimination of the Blues at Euro 2020. However, we expected to find them together in early September, for the three matches of the France team.
Didier Deschamps decided otherwise, snubbing the neo-Milanese.
"
It surprised me a little, especially the fact of not having been informed before,
" regretted the 34-year-old striker at the microphone of
TF1,
last Sunday.
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Frustrating for a player who left Chelsea for AC Milan this summer, where he started out.
Three days after the announcement of Deschamps' list, Giroud scored twice against Cagliari on August 29 (4-1).
The kind of accomplishment that Antoine Griezmann dreams of, 1,500 kilometers southwest of Milan, at the moment ...
Read alsoBlues: how Giroud saw his sidelining from the France team
The native of Mâcon has given up on Barça, which he had joined two years earlier from ... Atlético de Madrid. His return to the transfer window on August 31 suggested a redemption. However, the Wanda Metropolitano audience is not (yet?) Ready to pass the sponge and forgive his former darling, whistling his own player. “
He arrived with great enthusiasm,
his coach, Diego Simeone, defended relentlessly last week.
He is in the process of adapting to this new Atlético, who is no longer the Atlético he had known. I'm sure it will shine like before, I have no doubts.
"
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Contract, Maldini, official photos ... Olivier Giroud's first day at AC Milan
Overwhelming stats for Griezmann at Atlético
Doubts, however, this is not what is lacking around Griezmann.
In 305 minutes with the reigning Spanish champion, he has neither scored nor delivered an assist.
In fact, he didn't even frame a shot!
The dark side of the room.
Because in the France team, Griezmann retains its brilliance.
He had equalized against Bosnia on September 1 (1-1) and scored a nice double against Finland (2-0) to give the Blues a boost in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. All without Giroud, of which he has always been close on and off the pitch.
"If they call on me, I will give my best to help the team"
Olivier Giroud on his situation in the France team
"
It's like that, we have to move forward and we will see what the future has in store for us,"
Giroud said positively about his non-selection.
If I am called upon, I will give my best to help the team and why not get a little closer to Titi.
»With 46 goals in Blue, Giroud is no longer very far from the 51 goals of record holder Thierry Henry.
But he did not increase his chances in September, the fault of Covid-19 and then back pain which made him miss three matches.
He replayed a half-time on Saturday at La Spezia and is applying for a starting place against Atléti on Tuesday.
Whether he is called or not in the future, Giroud will still speak in the France team.
Like Griezmann at the Colchoneros.
“
Antoine is not a subject of concern,
refuted his teammate Koke in a press conference on Monday.
He is not the only one in the field, we are there as a team. We all need to get back to our best.
"Soporific since the start of the season, Atlético, 4th in Liga, was content with a sad draw against Porto (0-0) to launch its Champions League campaign. Koke forbids any fixate on Griezmann who "
prefers not to score and see the team win
". “
It doesn't matter to me that he shoots little, that he doesn't score. He will succeed because he has the quality and he has our confidence
», Adds the Spanish international community.
Champions League, big club and great friend opposite: Giroud and Griezmann want, even need, to hit hard.