Mueez Ajao
– Antoine Griezmann was the headline inclusion in Atletico Madrid’s starting XI for the derby with Real Madrid on Sunday.
– Griezmann has scored three goals for Atleti this term, but all of his seven appearances had come from the substitutes bench.
– Diego Simeone suggested this has in part been a financial decision, with Atleti set to owe Barcelona a fee for the on-loan forward should he play over half of the available minutes.
Also Read: Barcelona to file Lawsuit against Atletico over Griezmann
– Yet he got the nod ahead of Alvaro Morata for the match at the Civitas Metropolitano, starting alongside Joao Felix.
❤️🤍 @AntoGriezmann STARTS for @atletienglish… Will he get a goal tonight? 🌟⚽️#AtletiRealMadrid | #LaLigaSantander pic.twitter.com/9Fz3zsykbB
— LaLiga English (@LaLigaEN) September 18, 2022
Your Atleti XI for the Madrid Derby 💪 pic.twitter.com/MgUjjxRWYk
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) September 18, 2022
– Griezmann’s introduction was one of five changes made by Simeone, whose team lost 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
– Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, made two alterations to the Madrid team that started in Wednesday’s win over RB Leipzig.
– Ferland Mendy and Toni Kroos came in for Nacho Fernandez and Eduardo Camavinga respectively.
– With Karim Benzema out injured, Rodrygo – who has scored in his last two LaLiga appearances – was selected to lead Madrid’s line along with Federico Valverde and Vinicius Junior.
– Ancelotti has lost four of his six meetings as a manager with Simeone in LaLiga (W1 D1), while Atleti have the chance to win consecutive games against Madrid in Spain’s top flight for the first time since February 2015.
