Atletico aim for Champions League revenge against Real at fourth attempt.
Griezmann, third in the 2016 Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, had been heavily linked to Europa League winners Manchester United in recent weeks.
Atletico Madrid got in the mood for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona by thrashing Real Betis 5-1 on Saturday, their biggest win of the season. A classy finish from Fernando Torres and a fortuitous strike from Atletico's top scorer Antoine Griezmann gave the home side a 2-0 lead at halftime. Substitute Angel Correa then made a big impression in the second period, laying on the third goal for Juanfran and the fourth by Griezmann before Thomas Partey rounded off the scoring for the home team. Ruben Castro netted for Betis in the 79th minute when he pounced on a rare error from Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement with Benfica to sign their Argentina midfielder Nicolas Gaitan for 25 million euros ($28.06 million), the La Liga club said on Thursday. The 28-year-old Gaitan, who is under contract at Benfica until June 2019, is currently with the Argentina squad competing at the Copa America. The deal is subject to a medical.
Manchester City came from behind to beat Club Brugge 3-1 and secure their place in the Champions League playoffs
Atletico Super Cup win vindicates decision to stay, says Griezmann
Carlo Ancelotti's side were then reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute when Vinicius Jr was shown a straight red card for slapping Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.
IMAGES from an exciting Europa League semi-final first leg match played at Emirates Stadium on Thursday
First meets second as Barcelona host Atletico Madrid on Saturday looking to tighten their grip on the La Liga title race. The sides are level on 48 points at the top of the table, but Barca have a game in hand on Atletico and can take a huge step towards a fifth title in seven years with an eighth consecutive win in all competitions. Indeed, Luis Enrique's men remain on course for a repeat of the treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey they won last season after progressing to the semi-finals of the Cup with a come from behind 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in midweek. Yet, the European champions have been far from their best in the past week as they were outplayed by Malaga and Bilbao in the first-half before being salvaged by individual moments of magic after the break. "We are aware of the errors we need to correct," said Luis Suarez after taking his tally for the season already to 30 with the equalizer against Bilbao.
A round-up of Friday's action in La Liga, and Bundesliga.
When Griezmann fired Atletico to victory over Olympique de Marseille in the Europa League final in May it was widely viewed as his last stand for Diego Simeone's side before a move to Barca but they successfully convinced the Frenchman to stay.
Manchester City have one just victory from their last 10 games across all competitions.
Fernando Torres's head injury shocked his Atletico Madrid team mates as the striker had to be carried off on a stretcher towards the end of Thursday's 1-1 draw at Deportivo La Coruna.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
'This crisis is going to be much bigger than anything we've experienced and anything we do will not be enough but my aim is to help, it might not be enough in some cases but I have to try'
Atletico Madrid failed to build on Wednesday's notable Champions League success against Juventus when they were beaten 3-1 at a resurgent Valencia in La Liga on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid's faint hopes of chasing down runaway Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a fresh blow on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Girona, meaning they could fall 11 points behind the Catalans by the end of the weekend.
Diego Simeone has opened the door to the possibility of leaving Atletico Madrid in the next two years after announcing on Friday that he had reduced his contractual commitment from 2020 to 2018.
In the dying minutes of their Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid, a thunderstorm rolled in and drenched Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium.
Brazilian teenage striker Endrick came off the bench to score two goals in extra time and help Real Madrid rescue a hard-fought 5-2 win over Celta Vigo.
If Atletico Madrid win a first Champions League title by beating city rivals Real Madrid on Saturday they will become the most successful team in the club's history, eclipsing the La Liga and King's Cup double winners of 1996.
Atletico midfielder Saul Niguez, however, criticised his side for not showing enough ambition early in the game.
LaLiga leaders Barcelona lost 1-0 to Leganes on Sunday
After falling 2-0 down on the night, substitute Marcos Llorente struck twice in extra-time and Alvaro Morata added a late third to ensure a famous victory for Diego Simeone's side against a Liverpool team unbeaten in their last 25 home games in European competition.
A first-half penalty earned Lille a shock 1-0 home victory over holders Real Madrid in the Champions League group phase on Wednesday.
New Atletico striker Diego Costa, whose transfer from Chelsea was agreed this week, watched on from the stands as both sides hit the woodwork in the opening 20 minutes of an even first period.
Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Copa del Rey to Girona on Wednesday following a highly entertaining 3-3 draw at home to the Catalan side, who sneaked through to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.
It was Messi's 30th goal in 39 competitive games against Atletico
The Kolkata-based franchise, partly owned by La Liga club Atletico de Madrid for the first three seasons, had earlier this month split from the Spanish club.
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City beat champions Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to 18 points and leave the London side further adrift from the Champions League qualification spots.
Barcelona snapped their four-match winless streak in LaLiga with an emphatic 7-1 victory over Valencia on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid's problems deepened as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Villarreal in La Liga on Friday, stretching their winless run to four games in all competitions.
On Thursday, Vinicius called on UEFA, Europe's soccer governing body, to punish Atletico for alleged racist chanting ahead of their team's Champions League match against Inter Milan on Wednesday.
Manchester City came out on top in an epic Champions League battle against Monaco whereasAtletico Madrid beat hosts Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in a topsy-turvy encounter.
Barcelona midfielder Gavi delighted to be back after 348-day injury layoff
Atletico Madrid are not seeking revenge for their 2014 Champions League final defeat but instead want to write a new chapter in the club's history with their first European Cup after getting past Bayern Munich.
Atletico Madrid tore apart city rivals Real Madrid 4-0 at home to open up the La Liga title race on Saturday in a triumph crowned by a spectacular overhead kick goal by Saul Niguez.
Ivan Toney, once Brentford's lynchpin in attack, has moved to Al-Ahli for 40 million pounds ($52.50 million).
'I haven't always expressed myself well. I said I would like to play with Neymar and Mbappe, but that doesn't mean I want to go to PSG'
