After a brace in the midweek, the French international brought his tally up to 173 goals and confirmed his place as an Atlético legend. However, Griezmann’s road to legendary status has not been without its controversies. His departure to La Liga rivals Barcelona risked ruining his legacy at the club; his plaque outside the stadium was trashed, he was whistled by the fans who once loved him, and many at the club did not have kind words for a player who owed them so much. Club president Enrique Cerezo slammed the forward for “leaving through the backdoor rather than with everyone’s blessing. Players play where they want. If they want to leave, go.”

Griezmann’s Barcelona move risked ruining legacy

Griezmann, a World Cup winner with France in 2018, ultimately made the 120 million euro move to Barcelona, where he went on to spend an unhappy two years between 2019 and 2021. While nobody doubted his ability, he joined the Catalan club during a low point in their history and was never able to integrate into the team, only scoring a total of 22 goals in his two-year spell. 

Griezmann’s career was at a crossroads, and it was time to return home to his beloved colchoneros. Many were opposed to the idea, and Griezmann’s immediate return was hardly a bed of roses. The Frenchman was limited to an average of just 30 minutes a game as Atlético hierarchy wished to reduce Barcelona’s asking price: A two-year loan deal was struck between the two clubs that stipulated that if Griezmann played more than 45 minutes in more than 50% of the games, then Atletico would be contractually bound to pay Barcelona 40m euros to sign him permanently. With the Frenchman’s limited, he was a shadow of his former self.

Griezamann’s return to his former club promised to be short-lived as doubts arose as to whether it was worth bringing him back on a permanent basis, but in stepped Diego Simeone. Griezmann was always Simeone’s man, and after the striker’s replacement, João Félix left for Chelsea on loan after not living up to his price tag at the Wanda Metropolitano, Griezamnn had a chance to redeem himself. After a change in the agreement with Barcelona, Griezmann was again the main man. He didn’t let the opportunity slip and has since been back to his blistering best. He finished the 2022/23 season with 16 goals and 19 assists and has started the new season just as well. 

La Liga title eludes Griezmann

Griezmann has redeemed himself. Despite a shaky start to his second spell at the club, there are few who still hold a grudge against their undeniable legend. Nobody is as repentant as Griezmann about how his first spell with the club ended, and he has always been looking to make amends. Speaking after he equalled the record, the 32-year-old said, “I know people want to hear from me: I am sorry for how I hurt them,” he said. Later, he would add: “I went through that situation because I caused it. I had hurt the club, and the best thing I could do was keep my mouth shut, work hard, and do everything to help the manager.” 

Certainly, it seems he has been forgiven by those at the club, and his spell at Barcelona is water under the bridge. Luis Aragones Junior, the son of the late Aragones, recognised that “some of us were a bit angry with him…there were things that we lifelong Atlético fans did not like,” but that he has since “managed to turn everything around. Now we all recognise him as one of the best players in Atletico Madrid’s history.”

Player and club will be hoping to continue their story as Griezmann still searches for the elusive La Liga title and Atlético Madrid hopes to finally get their hands on the Champions League trophy. 

GFFN | Finn Entwistle

As reported by L’Équipe, Deschamps has been suffering from back pain for the last few weeks and underwent surgery at the start of the week. In his absence, his assistant Guy Stéphan will take his place and represent France in Hamburg over the weekend. 

Speaking about his absence, Deschamps said, “It is not with pleasure that I announce my absence from the draw… However, I will be following the draw attentively. Once we know who we are facing, we can prepare for our games.”

France reached the final of Euro 2016 with Didier Deschamps, where they lost to Portugal in extra time. Speaking in an interview with BeIn Sport, Deschamps identified England as one of the favourites for the upcoming tournament in Germany. Les Bleus narrowly beat England in the Qatar World Cup, however, he described the Three Lions as a “sold team.”

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The appointment comes following the dismissal of Jean-Marc Furlan at the start of the month after not picking up a victory since August. 

According to Ouest-France, the club initially approached former France U-21 manager Sylvain Ripoll, who is out of work since leaving Les Bleuets in the summer but have instead opted to promote Seube, who has been the manager of the reserve team since 2022, to the first team. Seube will manage a first time for the first time. Seube will also bring Emmanuel Lepresle, the long-standing physical trainer at the training ground. The new manager was unveiled to the press on Friday. Caen are currently 16th in the league and are without a league win since August 26th.  

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The manager from Auvergne was sent off as tempers flared between Lens’ Elye Wahi and Clermont’s Alidu Seidu in which both players were subsequently sent off, Wahi for a second yellow and Seidu for a straight red.

Montpellier’s Der Zakarian also sanctioned

A furious Gastien was then also shown a red for his reaction and he was up in the stands when his side faced Montpellier HSC at an empty Stade de la Mosson on Wednesday night. 

Montpellier manager Michel Der Zakarian has also been suspended for a match following his sending-off against their 1-1 draw at home to Clermont. Clermont currently sit 17th in the league, two points adrift of safety with just two wins this season. 

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The Brazilian had previously found playing time hard to come by as he was second fiddle, first to Thomas Didillon, who went on to sign for Monaco, and then subsequently to Monaco’s Radoslaw Majecki (24), who was on loan at the club last season.

This season, however, Warleson has been able to solidify his spot as the number-one keeper after his impressive start to the season, keeping a total of six clean sheets in 14 games. The Brazilian is subsequently on the radar of the Monagasque team as they look for someone to provide competition for Köhn. 

Should the signing come to fruition, it would naturally put the future of Majecki, now back at Monaco from his loan spell, in doubt. 

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Paris Saint-Germain won over the weekend to go top of the table, with OGC Nice and AS Monaco both dropping points, while Olympique Lyonnais earned their first win of the season.

Reims 0 – 3 PSG

PSG moved to the top of the league after a Kylian Mbappé hat-trick earned the away side a comfortable win over Reims. PSG took the lead after just three minutes as Mbappé connected beautifully with an Ousmane Dembélé cross to volley home. However, Reims got back into the game and troubled PSG, with Azor Matusiwa and Amir Richardson both missing good chances. Reims again started brightly in the second half, but Mbappé’s second goal in the 59th minute, assisted by Carlos Soler. Mbappé completed his hat-trick in the 82nd minute after a Bradley Barcola cutback. 

Luis Enrique’s team leapfrogged Nice to go top in the standings while Reims dropped to fifth.

Clermont Foot 1 – 0 Lorient

Clermont Foot came out on top in a huge game at the bottom of the table. The game was 0-0 at halftime, but the turning point came in the 69th minute when Lorient conceded a penalty that was cooly put away by Shamar Nicholson. Clermont earned a valuable three points in their relegation battle as they move within three points of safety, while Lorient remain in 16th place. 

Le Havre 0 – 0 Monaco

Monaco had to settle for a 0-0 draw in the end as they lost ground in their chase for the league title. Le Havre have had an impressive start to the season and started brightly against Monaco, almost opening the score in the first ten minutes, but Loïc Négo’s shot was well saved by Phillip Kohn. Monaco had chances throughout the game but failed to convert, and it was only due to the herpes of keeper Kohn that Monaco were able to leave with a point as he saved a last-minute penalty to deny Le Havre. Monaco dropped further behind PSG in the title race, who are now three points ahead, while Le Havre finish the matchweek in seventh. 

Montpellier 0 – 0 Nice

Nice dropped points in the title race as they dropped points away from home against Montpellier. While Nice remain unbeaten this season, they were leapfrogged by PSG, who beat Reims to secure top spot. The first half was largely uneventful but the tempo increased in the second half. Akor Adams nearly put the hosts ahead at the hour mark as his header hit the post, but that was the closest any team came in a rather dull affair.

Lille 1 – 1 Toulouse

Lille were held to a 1-1 draw against Toulouse. Leny Yoro put Lille ahead in the first half with a header following a corner, but Toulouse equalised at the hour mark, with their goal also coming from a set-piece finished by Thijs Dallinga. The hosts pushed hard toward the end of the game, hitting the woodwork twice in the final ten minutes. However, they could not find a winning goal as they lost points in their fight for the Champions League spots, despite extending their unbeaten run to six matches. Toulouse finished the week 14th. 

Rennes 0 – 1 Olympique Lyonnais

Olympique Lyonnais got their first win after nearly six months, beating 10-man Rennes by one goal to nil. Jake O’Brien scored the only goal in what was a dull encounter with a close-range header. Rennes were reduced to 10 men after just six minutes after Guela Doue was sent off for a tackle on Nicolas Tagliafico.

Lyon remain bottom of the table with just seven points despite the win, while Rennes extended their winless run to five matches, ending the week in 13th. 

 Lens 1 – 0 Marseille

Lens moved up to sixth place with a one-nil win against Marseille, who dropped to 10th. It was a close contest, but an injury-time header from Jonathan Gradit as Lens continue their march up the table. 

Metz 3 – 1 Nantes

Metz climbed to 11th in the table with a win over Nantes. Metz went ahead after just three minutes with a goal by Kevin Van Den Kerkhof. Nantes quickly equalised through Moses Simon before Metz again regained the lead before the half-hour mark through Simon Elisor. Joel Asoro then sealed the three points in the 85th minute as Nantes finished the week in ninth place. 

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PSG 3 – 0 Strasbourg

Kylian Mbappé starred as PSG secured a comfortable victory against a struggling Strasbourg. Mbappé converted from the spot in the 10th minute after Gonçalo Ramos was brought down. Carlos Soler doubled their lead on the 30-minute mark after a cutback from Mbappé, while Fabián Ruiz secured all three points in the 77th minute, capping off a comfortable win.  PSG sit in third, two points behind AS Monaco, while Strasbourg’s poor run of form continues as Patrick Viera’s side drops one place to 13th. 

Nice 1 – 0 Marseille

Nice narrowly beat rivals Marseille following a set-piece play in which Marseille defender Leonardo Balerdi was sent off for a second yellow card. The resulting set-piece was scored with a close-range header by Evan Guessand, assisted by Jérémie Boga. Nice finish the weekend fixtures second, just one point behind Monaco, while Marseille slip to 8th. 

Monaco 2 – 1 Metz

Two goals by Aleksandr Golovin allowed Monaco to come from a goal behind to clinch an important victory to keep them top of the table. Metz went ahead after just four minutes through Lamina Camara, whose effort from his own half found the back of the net. 

Wit half-time approaching, Golovin brought the score level with a long-distance goal before he added a second with a wonderful freekick in the 55th minute. Monaco remain top of the table, one point clear of Nice and two points ahead of PSG, while Metz are 16th. 

Lille 1 – 0 Brest

LOSC Lille narrowly defeated high-flyers Stade Brest by a single goal. Yusuf Laici’s sixth minute close-range goal, assisted by Jonathan David, was enough to clinch victory in Lille. The result meant that Brest dropped out of the top four and were leapfrogged by Lille.  

Lyon 1 – 2 Clermont

Clermont scored two first-half goals through Muhammed Chan and Yohann Magnin to earn victory against Lyon despite Tolisso’s goal in the 52nd minute. The result meant that Lyon dropped to the bottom of the table, winless in five matches. Conversely, Clermont rose one place to 17th, earning their first win of the season. 

Lorient 2 – 1 Rennes

Lorient emerged as winners in the Breton derby thanks to a Warmed Omari own-goal and Issak Touré. The away side started in the worst possible fashion after an own-goal from Warmed Omari in the third minute. However, the away side subsequently pushed on, scoring a well-deserved equaliser through a wonderful Ludovic Blas goal assisted by Amine Gouiri. Despite continued pressure from the away side, Lorient retook the lead just before halftime through an Issak Touré shot in the box that was enough to secure the three points. Lorient climbed to 12th while Rennes finished the weekend 9th.

Nantes 2 – 0 Montpellier

Goals from  Florent Mollet just before half-time and Kader Bamba in the 74th minute allowed Nantes to move up to 7th on joint points with Reims who sit in 6th while Montpellier drop places and are now sitting in 14th after the weekend. 

Toulouse 1 – 1 Reims

Toulouse extended their unbeaten home record this season with a one-all draw against Reims. The away side went ahead just after half-time with a 48th-minute deflected goal from Amir Richardson on the edge of the box. However, the home side levelled just three minutes later through Thijs Dallinga’s header. 

Reims dropped one place to sixth, while Toulouse finished the week 10th before their trip to Anfield on Thursday in the Europa League.

Le Havre 0 – 0 Lens

The two sides shared the points in the goalless draw despite chances for both sides. However, no team was clinical enough to snatch a victory. The home side sit in 11th, while Lens are 15th after a disappointing campaign for the team that finished second last year. The away side will play in the Champions League against PSV on Tuesday.

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On-loan Chelsea FC winger Gabriel picked up an adductor injury, which sidelined the Brazilian in Strasbourg’s 3-0 loss to Karlsruher in a friendly match last Thursday. 

Striker Emegha also looks set to miss out on the away match against PSG as he continues to recover from a muscle injury that saw him left out of Stasbourg’s 2-1 defeat away at FC Nantes. 

Both players have trained by themselves the past two days, while forward player Kevin Gameiro (36) missed the team training session today, also making him a doubt for the match on Saturday. 

Strasbourg go into the match on the back of two straight league defeats, the latter coming at home against FC Nantes, and currently sitting in 11th place.

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“It left a mark, especially at the time,” he says after being asked what effect being left out of the World Cup squad had on him, but that “despite everything, we made it to the final, so it was a good choice by the manager at the time.” The Olympique de Marseille full-back was first called to the national side in March 2022 at the age of 29 but was not a part of the World Cup squad. Jules Koundé, Benjamin Pavard and Axel Disasi, none of whom are right-backs by trade, were preferred. 

“I was disappointed, I’m not anymore, I bounced back and moved on to other things.,” said the former RC Lens defender. These comments come as Clauss is set to start ahead of Chelsea full-back Malo Gusto (20) in the upcoming UEFA European Championship qualifying match against the Netherlands, who are currently second in Group B on Friday. France will also play an international friendly against Scotland on October 17th. 

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The red card came after the Ligue 1 match between Clermont Foot and Montpellier was suspended and subsequently abandoned by referee Florent Batta after a firework, which exploded next to Clermont Foot’s goalkeeper Mory Diaw (30), was thrown onto the pitch from the stands in injury time with Montpellier leading 4-2. Diaw was stretchered off the pitch and deemed unable to continue with the match by a doctor. He has since joined up with the Senegalese national team after being cleared to go on international duty by club doctors.

During the incident, the Brazilian defender Borges was shown a red card after a video replay showed him gesturing with his middle finger towards the Montpellier fans. The decision has been upheld, and he will miss the next two matches against Olympique Lyonnais (22nd October) and OGC Nice (27th October). 

GFFN | Finn Entwistle