Antoine Griezmann will return for Atletico Madrid against Espanyol, but head coach Diego Simeone has insisted that he focuses on team dynamics and ensures his talented attacking options click, rather than singles.
The France forward has made a notable return from Barcelona, initially joining the reigning La Liga champions on loan with both clubs having the option of extending for another year.
Griezmann scored 133 goals in 257 games in his first period before the unfortunate € 120m move to the Catalan giants in 2019, and Simeone revealed that his new loan is savoring a homecoming.
“I found [Antoine] Griezmann eager to return to Atletico Madrid, very excited about the situation of the return to the team, “Simeone told reporters on Saturday.
However, the 51-year-old manager wished to avoid focusing on singles as Atletico seek to end a three-game winless away run against Espanyol in LaLiga.
Luis Suarez, who has scored 15 goals in 11 top-flight appearances against opponents on Sunday, could be reunited with his former Barça colleague Griezmann, though the France star will face a fight for a spot in the squad as the Atletico now boasts a wealth of attacking talent among their ranks.
Angel Correa thrived as a support striker, scoring three times in the first two games of La Liga, while Atletico opened with consecutive victories for the fourth time in the Simeone era.
Versatile striker Matheus Cunha then arrived from Hertha Berlin for a claimed € 26 million late in the transfer window.
The Brazil forward created 54 chances – ranking him sixth among strikers in Germany – last season, while only five forwards in the top five European leagues have completed more of Cunha’s 123 dribbles since his arrival in Berlin in January 2020.
Yannick Carrasco was the only Atletico player to complete 100 dribbles in that period and the Belgian winger – often used as a full-back last season – led the club rankings for created chances (47) in La Liga in 2020- 21.
Add the likes of Joao Felix, Thomas Lemar, Marcos Llorente and Rodrigo De Paul to the equation, and Simeone has a wide range of creative talent to turn to. Now you can also look to Griezmann.
While his stint at Barcelona may not have lived up to expectations, he still scored 20 times in 51 appearances in all competitions last season, providing 12 assists and creating 67 chances for Ronald Koeman’s side. That was two more than he ran in 2017-18, arguably the best individual campaign of Griezmann’s career.
But Simeone does not make fun of himself. While he has great talent at his disposal, he needs them to click.
“Internal competition has grown and this leads us to compete better”, continued Simeone.
“In the beginning it is easy to speak by names. I believe in men and the way a team is performed. We are absolutely always looking for a team.
“Names don’t get along, men do. We will go into that search for that commitment we have towards the club, always looking for the best. “