Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann has explained his bizarre celebration in the Blaugrana’s 5-2 win over Real Betis.
The Frenchman, who joined Barcelona in the summer, scored his first two goals for his new club on Sunday evening, helping the defending La Liga champions to their first win of the new campaign.
Griezmann’s bizarre celebration: Five things to know…
- Barcelona got their first win of the season with a 5-2 win over Real Betis.
- Antoine Griezmann scored twice in the win, to get off the mark for Barcelona.
- After his second goal, Griezmann celebrated by throwing red and blue glitter in the air.
- The Frenchman has revealed that Lionel Messi and LeBron James were the inspiration behind the celebration.
- Griezmann scored at the Camp Nou for the first time in his 15th game at the stadium.
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His first was to equalise after Nabil Fekir had given Betis the lead, getting onto the end of a cross from Sergi Roberto.
The pair then combined again for Barcelona’s second which Griezmann curled into the bottom left corner from the edge of the box. And after giving his side the lead, the Frenchman ran over to the corner flag and was handed a tub of glitter by a Barcelona staff member.
Griezmann threw the red and blue glitter into the air and has now revealed that LeBron James and Lionel Messi were the inspiration behind his celebratory antics.
He told reporters: “I see Leo [Messi] doing it in training and try to copy him. I like the ritual Lebron does and I tried to copy him.”
A keen basketball fan, Griezmann would have no doubt been delighted to see LeBron James take notice of the celebration, with LA Lakers superstar mentioning the forward on Twitter.
“I see you brother!! Helluva match and the chalk/confetti toast was right on point,” James wrote.
@AntoGriezmann I see you brother!! Helluva match and the chalk/confetti toast was right on point 🙌🏾😉!! 👑 https://t.co/qd3StjIKRu
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 26, 2019
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Griezmann thankful to end Camp Nou barren run
The brace for Griezmann not only kickstarted Barcelona’s campaign after the La Liga champions suffered an opening day defeat, but it also ended a drought for the Frenchman.
Prior to Sunday evening’s game, Griezmann had played 14 competitive games at the Camp Nou for Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad without scoring.
And Griezmann admitted his delight to have finally got off the mark, while also helping Barcelona get through a tricky game.
He added: “They woke us up with their goal and we played a great game with many chances.
Antoine Griezmann had never scored a goal at Camp Nou in his 14 games as an opposition player.
On his first start for Barcelona, he has two. ✌️ pic.twitter.com/7Xsj88GdGj
— Squawka (@Squawka) August 25, 2019
“We really wanted to improve after Bilbao. There is still margin to improve but it is the line to follow. When important people are missing, the team takes a step forward and it has been like that.
“If I make goals and give assists it is thanks to the team, I can’t do it alone.
“This is a tricky stadium for me. There’s not many in Spain where I haven’t scored and this was one of them, so I’m really happy for the goals, the way the team played and for the atmosphere.
“I know that people are expecting a lot of me, my first game wasn’t great so I just wanted another game to come along.”