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MADRID: Antoine Griezmann scored his 200th goal for Atletico Madrid as they secured their first Champions League win of the season with a 5-1 home victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday after Julian Alvarez also netted twice.
Playing without suspended manager Diego Simeone after his red card in their 3-2 opening defeat at Liverpool, Atletico took charge from the start, buoyed by a fervent home crowd still celebrating Saturday’s 5-2 derby thrashing of Real Madrid.
Atletico opened the scoring after four minutes through Giacomo Raspadori, who capitalized on a loose ball in the box after the defense failed to clear an Alvarez effort from a Giuliano Simeone cross, leaving the former Napoli striker unmarked at the edge of the six-yard box.
Griezmann missed a gilt-edged chance midway through the first half, slicing a volley from close range and immediately falling to his knees in disbelief.
But Robin Le Normand extended Atletico’s lead in the 32nd minute, firing home the rebound after Griezmann’s back-heeled effort from a corner was saved.
Griezmann eventually reached his milestone with a strike from close range in first-half stoppage time, celebrating with an Atletico shirt bearing “200” on the back as the club’s record goalscorer.
Alvarez provided the assist with a brilliant run past two defenders before serving the ball on a plate for the French forward to score.
Frankfurt threatened a comeback when Jonathan Burkhardt’s deflected effort wrongfooted keeper Jan Oblak in the 57th minute but Giuliano Simeone restored a three-goal cushion with a clever near-post header from a corner two minutes after Griezmann had a second goal ruled out for handball in the build-up.
Alvarez completed the rout in the 82nd minute, chipping home a penalty after VAR spotted a handball by Robin Koch that the referee initially missed, sealing a comprehensive victory that sets up a mouth-watering clash at Arsenal in three weeks’ time.
“I have enjoyed a lot this evening, it’s a great feeling. I’m very proud to have reached the 200-goal mark,” Griezmann told Movistar Plus. “It’s been tough but together we’ve managed to achieve it.
“The team is in good form. The comeback against Rayo (Vallecano in a 3-2 LaLiga win last Wednesday) did us good. We’re on a roll and we have to keep it up. We’re pressing hard, being aggressive and setting a fast pace for the game.
“That’s our strength, our style of football, and we have to keep it up. We want to score goals and not concede. We always want more.”

LONDON: Benfica boss Jose Mourinho was beaten on his return to Chelsea as Richard Rios’ own-goal condemned the former Blues manager to a 1-0 defeat in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Rios’ costly blunder in the first half at Stamford Bridge ruined Mourinho’s hopes of a win over the club he is most closely associated with.
Mourinho and then-owner Roman Abramovich transformed Chelsea into a superpower after his appointment in 2004, winning three Premier League titles among seven major trophies across his two spells in charge.
The 62-year-old’s managerial star may be on the wane following a decade without a league title, but his west London home-coming was still a box office occasion.
Mourinho had started the season in charge of Fenerbahce, who sacked him in August before he returned to his former club Benfica this month.
While Stamford Bridge is the scene of Mourinho’s former glories, it has not been a happy hunting ground for him since.
He has failed to win any of his seven visits with Manchester United, Tottenham and now Benfica since leaving Chelsea for the second time in 2015, while his lone success in the away dugout came with Inter Milan in 2010.
Despite the loss, Mourinho took heart from Benfica’s battling display.
“A defeat is always a defeat but this one can be a start for us. It was a stable performance,” Mourinho said.
“When a team changes coach mid-season it’s because things are not good. So we’ve had some difficulties. But we could have come away from here with a draw.”
Having claimed he was “always a Blue” and still the “biggest” manager in the club’s history on Monday, Mourinho, who retains a house near Stamford Bridge, had insisted Chelsea’s fans would give him a warm welcome on his latest return.
The prediction proved spot-on as Mourinho’s name was loudly chanted several times throughout the match by Chelsea fans who rose in unison to applaud him.
The Mourinho love-in inspired a strong start from Benfica, with Vangelis Pavlidis forcing Robert Sanchez to save at the climax of a flowing move.
Sanchez made another important stop when Dodi Lukebakio’s drive was pushed onto the near post by the Chelsea goalkeeper.

- Mourinho frustration -

But Chelsea rode their luck to take an 18th-minute lead thanks to Rios’ error.
Pedro Neto found Alejandro Garnacho inside the Benfica area and the Argentinian’s cross triggered a panicked clearance from Rios, who diverted the ball high into his own net from close range.
Mourinho’s luck was out, but he was still willing to play peacemaker when Benfica fans threw missiles at Chelsea captain Enzo Fernandez — who had a brief spell at the Portuguese club — marching down the touchline and gesturing to the supporters to stop the barrage.
Mourinho got his wish but Chelsea weren’t so compliant and Tyrique George should have doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when the young forward shot wide from a good position.
Benfica played with purpose after the interval but lacked the cutting edge required to carve out an equalizer.
Even a red card for Chelsea forward Joao Pedro for a high boot on Leandro Barreiro in the final seconds couldn’t spare Mourinho from a frustrating defeat.
While Mourinho was left to bemoan the first loss of his Benfica reign, it was a welcome success for Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea had lost three of their previous four games against Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Brighton, raising questions about Maresca’s ability to take the club to the next level.
Maresca has led Chelsea to UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup glory since taking charge last year, but Mourinho waspishly diminished both those achievements this week.
The Blues’ fourth win in nine games in all competitions this season was a timely response from Maresca.
“The effort was very good,” he said. “In the last games we have conceded too many goals. We need to be better defensively, so a clean-sheet is nice.”