CNN
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Antoine Griezmann scored twice, including straight from a corner, as Atlético Madrid beat Real Betis 2-1 on Sunday to move into third place in Spain’s La Liga.
After a goalless first half, Griezmann’s ‘Olimpico’ goal gave Atlético the lead when Rui Silva failed to complete his corner – minutes after Betis saw Luiz Henrique’s attempt disallowed for an offside in the build-up.
The France international scored his second goal through Silva’s legs after a clean interplay with Ángel Correa and substitute Matheus Cunha.
Betis hit back from a superb Nabil Fekir free-kick and almost equalized in added time when Álex Moreno’s header hit the bar.
It was a frustrating end to the game for the home side, who are now fifth in La Liga – three points behind Atlético and 11 behind leaders Real Madrid.
According to Atlético, Griezmann is now third in the club’s all-time goalscoring list after Sunday’s game with 147 goals, behind Luis Aragonés with 172 and Adrián Escudero with 169.
The win means Diego Simeone’s side went unbeaten in La Liga in October and next play Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday, where they need a win to bid for a place in the knockout stages to stay out of the competition.
Griezmann signed a new contract with Atlético earlier this month, having been on loan from Barcelona since the summer of 2021 – ending a strange period in which the star striker, 31, was mainly used as a second-half substitute.
In 11 games for Atlético between August 15 and October 8, Griezmann only started three games – in the other eight he came on after the full hour or shortly thereafter.
According to The Guardian, Griezmann’s loan from Barcelona meant there were restrictions on how many times he could play more than 45 minutes in a game, otherwise Atlético would have to buy the France international and pay the Catalan club $39.2m (€40m). to count. .
He scored three goals prior to signing on October 10 and has netted three times in four games since then. Griezmann has started Atlético in the last four games.
The new contract keeps him at Atlético until June 2026.
Elsewhere, Barcelona continued their good form this season with a comfortable 4-0 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Goals from Ousmane Dembélé, Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski in the first 22 minutes gave Barcelona a commanding lead before Ferrán Torres sealed defeat in the second half.
Lewandowski’s first-half performance, which came after a brilliant run from Dembélé, gave the Polish striker 12 goals in La Liga this season – five more than any other player.
Barça are now three points behind Real Madrid, their only league defeat coming in El Clásico earlier this month.