Simeone delighted with Griezmann in reduced role
Diego Simeone is loving watching Antoine Griezmann adapt to his new role at Atletico Madrid as the forward adjusts to playing fewer minutes.
Griezmann has started in just five of his LaLiga appearances this season, playing just 649 minutes in total, with Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth both preferred by Simeone.
However, the Frenchman came off the bench to help Atleti beat Valencia 2-1 last time out in the league, while he also scored a brace from the start in their Copa del Rey victory over Atletico Baleares.
Griezmann has scored five goals in LaLiga 2025-2026, all of them coming from the bench, making him the highest scoring substitute in Europe's top five leagues this season.
Ahead of a trip to Girona for its final match of 2025, Simeone highlighted the impact of Griezmann’s goalscoring form.
“It’s important for him [to score] because he’s happier, more content,” Simeone said after their win over Baleares.
“It’s what he wants: to score goals, help the team and go as far as possible in all competitions.
“He works very hard, I loved it.”
Girona is 18th in LaLiga because of its inferior goal difference compared to Osasuna’s, but its form of late has been positive.
Along with a win over Real Sociedad last weekend, Girona also secured draws against Real Madrid and Real Betis recently.
Simeone insisted that he will base his game plan on Girona’s recent run of results rather than its season as a whole.
“I always look at opponents based on their current form, and Girona are better than they were at the start of the season,” Simeone added.
“They’re coming off the back of some positive results, three or four matches in which they’ve competed very well, such as against Real Madrid or coming back against Real Sociedad.
“They’re continuing in the same vein, with the courageous style of play that generates the attacking football the manager wants. We’ll try to take the game to where we think we can hurt them.”
