The Frenchman rose to the occasion to help Barca with a crucial win in the title race.
Antoine Griezmann grabbed the headlines after scoring a double in Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Villarreal, who played with 10 men for the final half-hour due to Trigueros’ straight red card.
The first half was an entertaining one after both sides showed their intentions in front of the goal.
Barca had the chance to open the account; however, Frenkie de Jong’s tap-in was saved by goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo.
Whilst Barca were reeling off their missed opportunity, Villarreal stunned the visitors after a brilliant goal from winger Samuel Chukwueze. It all started from Pau Torres’ line-breaking pass from the defence.
Barca responded instantly when Antoine Griezmann nonchalantly chipped his strike over the head of Asenjo. The credit has to be given to Oscar Mingueza, who carried the ball until the middle third before finding the Frenchman.
The Catalans went ahead of the Yellow Submarine in no time; this time, it was Griezmann, who cleverly received Juan Foyth’s terrible back pass before finding the back of the nets.
The second half witnessed no significant action other than Trigueros’ straight red card for a wild challenge on Lionel Messi, which Barca used to their advantage to hold on to the lead successfully until the end.
The Catalans are still the third in the table tied on points with Real Madrid but have a game left in hand.
Antoine Griezmann returning to scoring from – good news for title-chasing Barca
It has been a while since Griezmann outshone Lionel Messi in the same game as the Frenchman always receives little attention due to the presence of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
The brace against Villarreal marked his 29th goal contribution to the Catalans in all the competition this season – the second most productive player after Messi – and he has already bettered last season’s tally.
With Messi already looking unstoppable at the moment, Griezmann’s upturn in form could be a massive advantage for Ronald Koeman’s side in the title race.
