Griezmann attempting to find his feet on rocky ground at Barca
Barcelona, Tuesday
Antoine Griezmann said he knew it would be tough settling in at Barcelona but it may have proven harder than he thought.
Barca play at home to Inter Milan on Wednesday looking for lift-off in the Champions League after a goalless draw against Borussia Dortmund made for an underwhelming start to their latest bid for success in Europe.
Griezmann also has something to prove after two steady but unspectacular months, elevated by moments rather than the consistency Ernesto Valverde would have hoped for when the Frenchman’s 120-million euro release clause was activated last summer.
“Against Bilbao he was not as involved as we would like,” Valverde said at the start of the season. “But it is also up to the team to allow our strikers to participate more.” When Griezmann scored twice in the next game, against Real Betis, before tossing glitter above his head at Camp Nou, it felt like he had made his big introduction and not just because of the theatrics.
But five La Liga games have since brought only one more goal and assist while a handful of rather muted displays have left a sense of a player finding his feet, despite excelling in La Liga for the past nine seasons.
After last week’s win over Villarreal, Griezmann was asked about his start at Barcelona. “It’s different,” he said. “It’s a different type of football, a different position and I knew it was going to be difficult to adjust.
“But I feel like I’m improving every game and that’s it. Three goals, it’s not bad right? I can do better but I just arrived. I work for the team and if I can score or assist, even better.”
Griezmann has reason to defend himself. He joined a team that after five games had posted its lowest points total in 25 years, with last season’s collapse against Liverpool still lingering, not least for Valverde, whose future is never secure. -AFP
