LaLiga 2019/2020: Atletico Madrid 0-1 Barcelona - 5 Talking Points

#2 Antoine Griezmann flounders on his return 'home'

Griezmann was on the peripheries of the match

Antoine Griezmann completed a highly controversial transfer when he joined Barcelona from Atletico Madrid for the sum of €120m over the summer.

It has, however, not been the dream start to his Barcelona career that he would have expected and he has struggled horribly for form in the colours of Barcelona, with just five goals from his first 17 matches for the Catalans.

In the eyes of virtually every Atletico Madrid fan, Griezmann committed the worst sin by joining the Catalans, especially coming just a season after he publicly spurned Barcelona and called Atletico his 'home'.

Over the course of five seasons, the French international played his way into the hearts of Atletico Madrid fans as a bonafide legend, but ahead of his return to the capital, there was no love lost between the fans and their former darling, with nothing but animosity existing in the hearts of the Atletico faihful.

They expressed as much in the buildup to the match, putting toy rats on Griezmann's plaque at the stadium (similar to what they did to Courtois on his 'return' last term) and there were numerous signs referencing the 28-year-old in unprintable names, while his every touch was greeted with jeers and boos.

In the buildup to the game, all attention was on Antoine Griezmann and how he would perform on his return 'home' but as it happened, it proved to be a case of 'much ado about nothing', with the former Real Sociedad man being on the periphery of the match throughout.

There was hardly anything of note that Griezmann did throughout the 90 minutes, with the best chance falling to him after Suarez set him up perfectly, but rather disappointingly, the World Cup winner blazed high and over on the volley when he could have done better had he shown more composure.

Although they saw their team lose, there would have been a modicum of satisfaction for the Atletico Madrid fans that their 'Judas' faltered horribly on his return to his former stomping ground.