Griezmann becomes AT’s all-time leading scorer with 173 goals “HISTORIA”
Antoine Griezmann has become a living legend at Atletico Madrid.
Atletico drew 3-3 with Getafe in the 17th round of the 2023-24 Spanish La Liga at the Civitas Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, at 5:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The result leaves Atletico in third place.
Atletico scored first. In the 44th minute, Riquelme Richarlison’s cross from the right side was met by Griezmann, who rattled the net with his left foot. The first half ended with Atletico leading 1-0. Getafe equalized in the second half. Eight minutes into the second half, Mason Greenwood’s cross was met by Jan Oblak, but Borja Mayoral headed home from distance.
Atletico extended their lead with back-to-back goals. In the 18th minute, Marcos Llorente crossed from the right flank and Alvaro Morata found the back of the net with a header. In the 24th minute, Griezmann converted a penalty kick earned by Mario Hermoso to make it 3-1.
Getafe didn’t give up and chipped away at the deficit until the 42nd minute when Oscar Rodriguez beat a defender inside the penalty box and fired a shot that deflected off a defender and into the net. Getafe scored a dramatic equalizer. In the third minute of second-half stoppage time, Riquelme Richie committed a handball foul inside the penalty box and the video assistant referee (VAR) awarded a penalty kick. Kicker Borja Mayoral converted the penalty to end the match 3-3.
Griezmann scored the team’s first and third goals, making it a multi-goal game, but Atletico did not win. According to soccer stats outlet Couch Score, Griezmann played the full game and scored two goals, had two shots on target, one blocked shot, 62 touches of the ball, an 88% pass success rate (37 of 42), and one ground contest (four attempts). The rating of 8.1 was the highest for both teams.
Griezmann’s multi-goal performance in the match made history for Atletico. His two goals gave him 173 career goals for Atletico, tying him with Luis Aragones for first place on the club’s all-time goalscoring list.
Atletico congratulated Griezmann on his multi-goal performance, writing “HOSTORIA” on their official social media accounts. Aragones played for Atletico from 1964 to 1974. It’s only a matter of time before Griezmann surpasses Aragones as Atletico’s all-time leading scorer.
Griezmann came to Atletico after a successful stint at Real Sociedad. With Atletico, he reached two UEFA Champions League (UCL) finals and won the UEFA Europa League (UEL) in the 2017-18 season. Despite his loyalty to Atletico, Griezmann suddenly moved to Barcelona. There were even pre-contact issues.
Despite the €120 million transfer fee, Atletico fans felt betrayed. Griezmann never really hit his stride at Barcelona. He scored nine league goals and provided four assists in his first season, and then bounced back with 13 goals and eight assists in 2020-21.
However, he didn’t play much in 2021-22 and returned to Atletico on loan. The move was not well received by the fans at the time, but Griezmann won them over with his performances on the pitch. In his first season on loan, he struggled in the league, but he was brilliant in the UCL, leading Atletico to the quarterfinals.
Atletico extended Griezmann’s loan for another year and he put up insane stats last season, scoring 15 goals and providing 17 assists in the league. Ahead of this season, Griezmann joined Atletico outright. Griezmann has been a key player for Atletico this season. He threatens opponents with his movement in attack and creates great chances for his teammates. Griezmann has 16 goals and two assists in all competitions. This makes him Atletico’s joint top scorer and makes him a living legend at the club.