Antoine Griezmann, currently at Atletico Madrid on loan from Barcelona on a contract stuffed with clauses, came off the bench to hand his side a 1-0 La Liga win at Valencia on Monday as Diego Simeone’s side bounced back from their unexpected home defeat by Villarreal eight days ago. Atletico sit sixth in standings on six points, three behind leaders Real Madrid and Betis and one adrift of Barcelona, Villarreal and Athletic Bilbao.

Griezmann scored Atletico’s winner in the 66th minute, assisted by fellow-substitute Thomas Lemar. Lemar made a fine individual run from the left touchline and found his France teammate Griezmann on the edge of the area.

Griezmann lashed in a shot that was deflected off the back of the defender and past the helpless goalkeeper. Both players entered the match in the 64th to replace Geoffrey Kondogbia and Rodrigo De Paul. Griezmann also scored in the opening win over Getafe.

One reason why Simeone is not starting with Griezmann is the mandatory €40 million transfer fee that the club will have to pay Barcelona as part of the deal that they agreed to in the summer of 2021. As per the clauses in the transfer agreement, Atletico are bound to pay €40 million if Griezmann, 31, features in 50 per cent of the matches with a minimum of 45 minutes between the games across two seasons.

To avoid activating the clause, Atletico are making sure to restrict his game time. The opening two La Liga games saw him come off the bench at the same time and play for exactly 28 minutes. The victory at Valencia’s Mestalla Stadium helped Simeone’s team rebound from a disappointing loss to Villarreal in its home opener last weekend.