Antoine Griezmann puts the whistles and boos behind him with match-winning performance against Roma

Whistled by his own fans during Saturday's dire goalless draw against Real, Griezmann finally emerged from his season-long slump as Atletico saw off Roma in the Champions League

 

The whistles had been so loud that Diego Simeone felt he had no option but to address the topic of Antoine Griezmann’s poor form head on.

“I have been taught that those who are in my family, I am with them to the death. And I will not change now,” Simeone said with a frown, picking his words carefully after Atletico’s dismal goalless draw with Real Madrid last weekend.
“Things within your family are resolved within the family,” he continued, only to add after a slight pause: “I'm with my family, while they are still there.”

While they are still there. This was the crucial give, which the French and Spanish press, ravenous for football transfer gossip, latched on to in typical fashion. ‘GRIEZMANN IN CRISIS’ screamed one story in Marca. For many, Simeone’s character defence of Griezmann spelled the end for the forward’s time at Atleti. “There’s a sense of this being the end of a story,” his former agent, Eric Olhats, told L'Equipe.
It was Simeone’s decision to haul off Greizmann early against Real that set the wheels in motion. After yet another impotent display he was withdrawn in favour of Fernando Torres.
Once, the Vicente Calderón would have whistled the decision. But now, the Wanda Metropolitano whistled Griezmann. The forward was given a torrid reception as he trudged off, with the supporters who had been willing to forgive his open flirtation with Manchester United in no mood to forgive a perceived lack of effort.
The statistics tell their own story. He has been shown as many yellow cards (four) as he has scored league goals (two), with Atletico already trailing first-place Barcelona by ten points. In the Champions League meanwhile he had scored just once, from the penalty spot in a home defeat to Chelsea, failing to hit the back of the net in 180 minutes of football against FK Qarabag, of Azerbaijan.

 

 

Unsurprisingly then, there was significant pressure on Simeone to drop his ailing star for the visit of in-form Roma, a game Atletico simply had to win to keep their flickering Champions League hopes alive. Instead Simeone kept the faith, and he was rewarded with a match-winning display.
Castigated by supporters and pundits alike ever since the goalless draw against Real, Greizmann responded with the kind of performance that has characterised his incredibly successful three seasons in Madrid, but has been sorely lacking this season. Buoyed by a warm reception at the start of the match, Griezmann set about trying to rediscover the form he had exhibited last season. And – mercifully – he succeeded.
His most telling contribution came in the 69^th-minute. With the game still goalless and Atletico’s fans shifting nervously in their seats, substitute Angel Correa chased down a chip forward and hooked the ball back across goal. The pass was hit behind Griezmann, only for the forward to edge away from goal, shift his balance and strike the ball with an acrobatic flying volley.

It was exactly what Griezmann needed: a moment of instinctive brilliance to snap him out of the cumbersome over-thinking which had characterised his play since August.  A wonder-goal to revive his flat-lining confidence and win over the fans who had whistled him just days ago.
The relief was palpable – in the stands, on the touchline and in Griezmann himself. Immediately he began demanding the ball again, running at defenders and urging his team-mates forward. And soon he had made another seismic contribution, sliding Kevin Gameiro through with an inch-perfect through-ball to kill the game.
Once again Simeone was quick to bring up Griezmann in his post-match press conference. But this time there was no frowning.

 

“We started to win the game in the first minute when the fans applauded Griezmann and Torres. This team has a lot of heart,” he said. “We had the responsibility to win today and we did it. It was an extraordinary goal, with great attacking work by the whole team.”

Greizmann was similarly ebullient. “We will fight to the end. We know it was important to win today and later we will see what happens,” he said, before declaring his love for playing at his club’s “beautiful new stadium”.
These have been unhappy times for the 26-year-old this season. But finally there is light at the end of the tunnel.