Recital of Benzema and Griezmann against Finland

Possibly, this Tuesday’s game for France represents a turning point for Deschamps as well as for Griezmann and Benzema. Since the Real Madrid forward returned to Les Bleus, we had not yet seen such a decisive version of both and with such understanding on the field of play. If France beat Finland 2-0 it was because Benzema and Griezmann decided the match for themselves and made a memorable performance. The one from Atlético de Madrid made a double, molded impossible plays with the one from Real Madrid and tied Platini as France’s third all-time top scorer. The world champion, after five games without a win, finally set the course at a defining moment of the season.

At the most critical moment since he took the reins of the national team, adding five consecutive games without winning, Deschamps introduced novelties in the eleven. The coach came out with three centrals, in addition to making Theo Hernandez debut as a starter. The Milan winger came out as a left-winger in an eleven that brought together Griezmann, Benzema and Martial in attack.

Undoubtedly, there were sections in Lyon in which France gave a feeling of neglect and of being an emotionally broken team. Lhe elimination of the European Championship continues to wreak havoc on the world champion when it came to facing matches against weaker opponents a priori and Finland had 20 very good minutes in which it came to bother Lloris. The French pressure, very thick in the first row, was not overwhelming and that allowed the Nordics to reach the rival area with great ease.

However, unlike in the last few games, Deschamps realized today that he had to gather offensive talent rather than drive him away. If in the last games Griezmann had played on the right wing and very far from Benzema, today, the Atlético de Madrid player played free with Benzema ahead, generating advantages.. Thus they generated the clearest chance of the match, in a shot from the Real Madrid striker that Hrádecký repelled with considerable difficulty.

If France was resurrected at the most critical moment of the game, it was thanks to the talent of Griezmann and Benzema. One minute after the great occasion of Les Bleus, both returned to combine, this time after a spur from Karim that Griezmann finished with a magnificent exterior that ended up in the net. After the 1-0, France was unleashed, had several occasions to go with a higher income on the scoreboard at halftime and Finland was practically a broken toy at the mercy of Deschamps’ team until the referee’s whistle.

If the first half had been a recital between Griezmann and Benzema, the second was no less. Both were decisive again in the 2-0 that the new Atlético de Madrid player materialized, equaling Platini as the team’s third top scorer with 41 goals. Benzema, unstoppable throughout the match, left another gesture to remember after dribbling two rivals with a change of direction with the fabulous exterior. With a stadium delivered to both, Benzema and Griezmann returned to leave an all-star play in which the latter was able to score the third on his own account, but his shot went off the post. With the fish practically sold, the pace slowed down a lot and Finland called for a penalty at the end of Pogba that the referee, Aytekin, did not point out.