Antoine Griezmann scores ‘Olimpico’ goal as Atlético Madrid beats Real Betis 2-1
CNN
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Antoine Griezmann scored twice, including directly from a corner, as Atlético Madrid defeated Real Betis 2-1 on Sunday to move up to third in Spain’s La Liga.
After a goalless first-half, Griezmann’s ‘Olimpico’ goal gave Atlético the lead when Rui Silva failed to gather his corner – minutes after Betis had seen Luiz Henrique’s effort disallowed for an offside in the build-up.
The French international scored his second through the legs of Silva after neat interplay with Ángel Correa and substitute Matheus Cunha.
Betis hit back through Nabil Fekir’s superb free-kick and almost drew level in stoppage time when Álex Moreno’s header hit the bar.
It was a frustrating end to the game for the home side, which is now fifth in La Liga – three points behind Atlético and 11 behind leader Real Madrid.
According to Atlético, Griezmann is now third in the club’s all-time scoring charts after Sunday’s game with 147 goals, behind Luis Aragonés on 172 and Adrián Escudero on 169.
The win means Diego Simeone’s side went unbeaten in La Liga in October and next plays Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday, where it needs a win to stay in contention for a place in the knockout stage of the competition.
Elsewhere, Barcelona continued its good form this season with a comfortable 4-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao.
Goals from Ousmane Dembélé, Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski inside the opening 22 minutes gave Barcelona a commanding lead, before Ferrán Torres completed the rout in the second half.
Lewandowski’s first-half effort, which came after a brilliant run from Dembélé, took the Polish striker to 12 goals in La Liga this season – five more than any other player.
Barça is now three points behind Real Madrid, its only defeat in the league coming in El Clásico earlier this month.
