Qu'est ce que c'est passe, Antoine?
The Atlético striker has not found the net in La Liga in two months, since the victory in Mestalla on October 2, conciding with a run of poor results
Antoine Griezmann hasn’t found the back of the net in the league for two months and the Atlético striker’s drought has been at the expense of his side, who were reliant last season on the Frenchman’s goals and have been struggling this term when he hasn’t been on target.
Carrasco and Gameiro filling in
The last time Griezmann beat a keeper was in the 2-0 victory over Valencia at Mestalla, which sent Atlético to the top of the table -- and even then he missed a penalty. Since then Atlético have played seven Liga fixtures in which Griezmann has not scored. Yannick Carrasco and Kevin Gameiro have been picking up the slack to an extent, but their contributions in the victories over Granada (7-1), Málaga (4-2) and Osasuna (0-3) have not been replicated in the recent setbacks Diego Simeone’s side have faced.
Four games without a goal in last seven
In the other four games played during Griezmann’s drought, Atlético have lost to Sevilla, Real Sociedad and Real Madrid and have failed to score in all three of those fixtures, a run compounded by a goalless draw against Espanyol in the Calderón on Saturday.
Next up for Atlético is a trip to El Madrigal, where Villarreal have always made life difficult for Simeone’s side. Atlético are nine points adrift of leaders Real Madrid and just two ahead of the Yellow Submarine and Real Sociedad, who play on Monday night.
Griezmann two games off longest Atlético drought
Still, Griezmann’s tally stands at six goals in La Liga and three in the Champions League this season, and the Frenchman has provided six assists for his teammates. Not bad statistics at this stage of the season but despite Simeone saying in his post-match press conference that he is not concerned by his star striker’s lack of goals, Griezmann is now in his longest rut in front of goal since the start of the 2014-15 season, just after he had signed for Atlético, when he went his first nine Liga games for his new club without scoring.
Griezmann, and Atlético, got off to a good start to 2016-17 but as the Frenchman’s influence has tailed off, the side’s results have as well.