Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde admits that new signing Antoine Griezmann “had to step up” with the absence of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele, as the Frenchman scored twice on his Camp Nou debut, which ended with a 5-2 victory for Barcelona against Real Betis in La Liga.
“I am particularly delighted with Griezmann of course. It’s important for him because he’s just arrived. He gained confidence,” added Valverde.
Griezmann copied Lionel Messi when curling in a left-footed shot shortly after half-time and then imitated NBA star LeBron James to celebrate it – his first goal came in the first half.
Carles Perez, Jordi Alba and Arturo Vidal scored Barcelona’s remaining goals.
Speaking after the game to the club’s website, Griezmann said: “Well, this is a tricky stadium for me. There’s not many in Spain where I haven’t scored and this was one of them.”
Watch exactly what Valverde had to say on Barca’s new hitman above.
