BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Antoine Griezmann and Álvaro Morata have Atletico Madrid dreaming of a title run in the Spanish league this season.
The France forward and Spain striker have scored 13 goals in the league and Atletico is the only team to beat leader Real Madrid so far this campaign.
Atletico visits Las Palmas on Friday seeking a win to pull level with Madrid and second-place Girona at the top of the table. Diego Simeone’s side also has a game in hand.
After 11 rounds, Atletico has emerged as the top threat to Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid.
It has proven to be the only team capable of beating Madrid, when in September Morata scored a double and Griezmann added another goal in a 3-1 win at Atletico’s stadium. Atletico also has a game in hand after a match against Sevilla was postponed due to bad weather.
“We have to keep doing our own thing,” Simeone said about his team after last round’s 2-1 win over Alaves which tied its longest home winning streak of 14 straight victories.
Simeone’s side started clicking in the second half of last season, when it finished third in the standings mainly because of its poor start to the campaign, and that good form has carried over to 2023/24.
That momentum is largely thanks to the attacking partnership of Morata and Griezmann.
Morata, now 31, joined Atletico in midway through the 2018-19 season from Chelsea, where he failed to reach his potential after standing out both at Real Madrid and on loan at Juventus.
But at Atletico he lacked the ruthlessness of Atletico’s former striker Diego Costa, and was soon shipped back on loan to Juventus, making room for a veteran Luis Suárez to lead Atletico to the 2021 league title.
Morata returned to Atletico when his loan deal ran out at the start of last season, but he only kept his starting job, reportedly, because Atletico couldn’t find a better replacement.
Atletico is now more than happy with the player, whose seniority with the national team has led him to becoming Spain’s captain following the international retirement of Sergio Busquets.
Morata is off a great start with nine goals — six in the league and three in the Champions League — in 12 appearances.
“Álvaro is the same player, just that now he is finishing his chances better,” Simeone said recently about Morata. “He had the opportunities to score more goals in past seasons, and we have to help him continue to grow and keep this level of performance up, which is the most complicated thing in soccer.”
Griezmann, 32, similarly spent two seasons at Barcelona before returning to Atletico in 2021, when he had to endure jeers from some fans before he quickly restored his status as team leader, scorer and playmaker. He has matched Morata’s goal tally with nine overall, including a team-high seven goals in the league.
Atletico is hoping to have a third strong scorer when Memphis Depay recovers from injury.
Madrid hosts Rayo Vallecano on Sunday with Jude Bellingham in outstanding form. The England midfielder struck twice in a 2-1 comeback at Barcelona in last weekend’s “clasico” game to give him 13 goals in as many games overall.
Girona visits Osasuna on Saturday, when Barcelona needs to respond to its loss to Madrid on its visit to fifth-place Real Sociedad.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press
