Marseille 0-3 Atletico Madrid: Antoine Griezmann signs off in style ahead of Barcelona move as brace in Europa League final seals his FIRST major trophy
- Antoine Griezmann opened the scoring with an easy chance after Andre Zambo Anguissa gave away the ball
- Marseille star Dimitri Payet left the field in tears after half an hour, giving into an injury suffered early on
- Griezmann doubled Atletico Madrid's lead with a second goal after a well worked move from the Spanish side
- The French striker is expected to join La Liga champions Barcelona in a nine-figure deal early this summer
- Gabi scored the third and final goal for Atletico Madrid to seal a deserved triumph over Marseille in Lyon
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If this is to be Antoine Griezmann's final game for Atletico Madrid, he can certainly count on a warm welcome each and every time he returns to the Wanda Metropolitano in his red-and-blue striped shirt.
The Frenchman, who is expected to join Barcelona this summer, had not won a single major honour with Diego Simeone's side before Wednesday night, but can now leave with his name securely placed in Atletico folklore after an inspirational display to seal the Europa League.
Griezmann netted either side of half-time, first thanks to a mistake from Marseille's Andre Zambo Anguissa and the second the result of a neat one-two with the equally talented playmaker Koke. The match was won by the time Gabi thundered in the third in the 89th minute to allow celebrations to begin early.
Fernando Torres was given the honour of lifting the Europa League trophy on his final appearance for his boyhood club
The Atletico Madrid players are showered in confetti as they pose with their Europa League trophy after a 3-0 win on the night
Antoine Griezmann celebrates with the trophy on what could be his last appearance for the club ahead of a move to Barcelona
Torres, 34, kisses the Europa League trophy - his first major title with the club - on his final appearance before his deal expires
The veteran striker celebrated with fans as he wound down his Atletico career in the best possible style on Wednesday
Atletico Madrid's Sime Vrsaljko and Diego Costa celebrate with their team-mates after winning the Europa League final
Griezmann enjoys a lap of honour amid the confetti as Atletico celebrate their Europa League triumph on Wednesday
Dimitri Payet is left in tears as he watches Atletico Madrid lift the trophy he could have won with his beloved club Marseille
MATCH FACTS, PLAYERS RATINGS AND MATCH ZONE
MARSEILLE XI: Mandanda, Sarr, Rami, Gustavo, Amavi, Zambo, Sanson, Thauvin, Payet (Lopez 32), Ocampos (N'Jie 55), Germain (Mitroglou 74).
Subs not used: Pele, Sakai, Kamara, Rolando.
Goals: None
Bookings: Amavi, Gustavo, N'Jie
Manager: Rudi García
ATLETICO MADRID XI: Oblak, Vrsaljko (Juanfran 46), Gimenez, Godin, Lucas, Correa (Thomas 88), Gabi, Saul, Koke, Griezmann (Torres 90), Costa.
Subs not used: Werner, Filipe Luis, Savic, Gameiro.
Goals: Griezmann 21, 49; Gabi 89
Bookings: Vrsaljko, Lucas
Manager: Diego Simeone
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Holland)
Antoine Griezmann plays a one-two with Koke before chipping the ball over the goalkeeper. For more from Match Zone, click here.
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For the two enfant terribles in the recent history of the Premier League, this Europa League final threw up two sorely contrasting evenings.
For Diego Costa, the pitbull of a striker that terrorised Antonio Conte and endured six weeks without pay as he began his season in hiding in his Brazilian hometown, this became a night to justify all his mumbling and grumbling.
After escaping Chelsea, he is back home with the club he adores, the manager, Diego Simeone, who he respects above all and a trophy in his hands once more. He is now certain to form part of the Spain squad at this summer's World Cup.
As for Dimitri Payet, the dazzling playmaker that stole the hearts of West Ham supporters before tearing them apart, this was a night of heartache.
Payet, the Marseille captain, has a similar story to Costa, a similar attachment to a club where he is now in his second spell and he arrived in Lyon yearning to clutch the trophy. As he walked out before the game, Payet committed one of football folklore's well-established sins, touching the trophy as he passed it by. Bad luck, that, they say, and so it proved here.
Griezmann was the inspiration for Atletico as he scored either side of half-time to seal a famous Europa League win
Griezmann is presented with a wonderful chance to score after the ball finds him unmarked on the edge of the box
Striker Griezmann clinically finishes past Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda for the opening goal of the European final
Griezmann is surrounded by his ecstatic Atletico team-mates as they take the lead over Marseille in Wednesday's final
Marseille's Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa reacts with a guilty look after giving the ball away that allowed Griezmann to score
Griezmann chips over a diving Mandanda to double Atletico's lead and put them in touching distance of the final
Griezmann watches as his shot rolls over Marseille's goal-line to give him and Atletico a second goal of the night
The Frenchman shows off the same celebration for his second goal as his team-mates walk off to restart the match
Griezmann (centre) is joined by his team-mates as he celebrates his second goal of the Europa League final on Wednesday
Payet saw his team fall a goal behind when Griezmann profited from an error in the first-half and disappointment turned to agony when he pulled up with a muscular injury shortly afterwards. As he departed the field, tears spilled down his face and with France set to name their World Cup squad on Thursday, the omens do not bode well for one their most gifted individuals.
His French international team-mate and opponent on the night Griezmann consoled Payet on his way off, caressing his cheek and kissing him on the forehead.
Payet had been nursing a thigh injury in the lead-up to the game but insisted in a press conference on Tuesday that he was fit and ready to shine. It is, sadly, a gamble that spectacularly backfired. Payet is now 31 and this was almost certainly his last opportunity to compete at a World Cup.
For a short while, it had looked a smart decision. Marseille actually started this game the better of the two sides. The French support appeared to occupy vast swathes of the stadium, as tens of thousands made the 200 mile journey up from the south coast of France. They arrived with purpose, setting off flares at the start of the game and creating a thrilling atmosphere with their sea of flags and bouncing, raucous fans.
Fuelled by the adrenalin shots pumped from the terraces, Marseille's players appeared emboldened. They snapped into challenges, harrying Atletico's skilful operators such as Angel Correa and Saul Niguez into errors. Inside the opening five minutes, the French side should have taken the lead.
Former Newcastle winger Florian Thauvin, enjoying a remarkable renaissance at Marseille after a torrid time in England, combined beautifully with Payet to carve the Atletico defence open. Valerie Germain was through on goal but his strike was wild and over the bar.
Things went from bad to worse for Marseille when Dimitri Payet (second left) was forced off after 30 minutes with an injury
The former West Ham star left the field in tears as he succumbed to injury and left the field having played just half an hour
Marseille fans are silenced after seeing their side fall behind in the Europa League final at the Stade de Lyon on Wednesday
Marseille players look dejected after conceding a second goal to Atletico in Wednesday's Europa League final
Kostas Mitroglou comes close to getting Marseille back in the game after sending his header crashing against the post
The Greek striker, formerly of Fulham, looks on in disbelief after seeing his effort come so close to pulling a goal back
On such misses, European finals are often decided and Atletico are not a side that generally allow opponents too many clear sights of goal. Payet let fly from distance but the movement on the ball did not deceive Jan Oblak in the Atleti goal.
Soon enough, Atletico grew into the game. They began to enjoy more of the territory and shortly after the lead followed.
They held Arsenal at arms' length in the semi-finals of the competition and here they showcased defensive resilience, organisational nous and a killer instinct.
Diego Simeone may have been watching on from the stands - he is still banned from the dugout following his touchline tirade at the Emirates Stadium - but his side are so assured, so cool in how they manage a football game that his absence from touchline became a footnote.
This, remarkably, was the club's fourth European final in Simeone's seven years in charge. The Argentine has overseen two Champions League final defeats by Real Madrid but his team previously overcame Athletic Bilbao to lift the Europa League in 2012. Despite this season's group stage failure in the Champions League, Atletico remain one of the most dangerous and brutal sides on the continent.
Atletico captain Gabi rounds off an emphatic victory with a fierce strike from the edge of the box to make it 3-0
The ball beats Marseille goalkeeper Mandanda for pace as Atletico Madrid take a 3-0 lead with just one minute left to play
Atletico captain Gabi celebrates his goal scored in the 89th minute to make it 3-0 and cap off an impressive victory
Atletico players celebrate together as their victory is sealed by a strike from their captain Gabi in the 89th minute
For all the attacking potential in this Atletico side, it was a gift of a goal to hand the Spanish side the lead.
Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda played a loose pass from the back and Andre Zambo Anguissa miscontrolled the ball. Atletico's Gabi swiftly pounced, releasing Antoine Griezmann who sat Mandanda down and stroked the ball into the goal.
Atletico's fans responded with their own display of sparkly red pyrotechnics and Griezmann, whose own place in the starting line-up had been question by some sections of the Atletico support amid rumours of a move to Barcelona, provided the perfect retort. The Frenchman is a brilliant forward, who combines inspiration and perspiration, making sacrifices for his team while still retaining the ability to conjure moments to define games.
Matters soon became worse for Marseille, as Payet exited the play and in doing so, the pizzazz seemed to leave both the team and those in the stands. The 'Allez' choruses became less effusive and Atletico sensed weakness.
Early in the second-half, victory was assured, as Koke slipped a pass through for Griezmann, who clipped a sublime pass over the goalkeeper. If this is to be his farewell, he could hardly have designed it better. Marseille briefly rallied, hitting a woodwork and warming Oblak's hands but Atletico were always in control and confirmed the triumph when captain Gabi rifled home a late third.
Atletico players give their defeated opponents a guard of honour as they go up to claim their runners-up medals
Marseille manager Rudi Garcia (centre) watches on with his players as Atletico go up to receive their trophy
Atletico manager Diego Simeone smiles as he joins his players on the pitch following the conclusion of the match
Torres lifts the Europa League trophy for Atletico as the players celebrate their victory on Wednesday night in Lyon
Atletico players celebrate with the trophy amid jubilant scenes after a deserved win over Marseille in the final
Griezmann celebrates with the families of his Atletico team-mates after his match-winning performance vs Marseille
Costa drapes himself in Atletico memorabilia as he proudly wears his Europa League winners' medal around his neck
The Atletico squad celebrate in front of where their fans sit in the Stade de Lyon in France as celebrations continue
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