Griezmann copied Messi and LeBron in goalscoring Barcelona display

Antoine Griezmann drew inspiration from Lionel Messi and LeBron James as he helped Barcelona defeat Real Betis.

Published : Aug 26, 2019 17:04 IST

Antoine Griezmann (C) celebrates with Arturo Vidal (L) and Carles Perez after scoring against Real Betis in a La Liga match.
Antoine Griezmann (C) celebrates with Arturo Vidal (L) and Carles Perez after scoring against Real Betis in a La Liga match.
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Antoine Griezmann (C) celebrates with Arturo Vidal (L) and Carles Perez after scoring against Real Betis in a La Liga match.

Antoine Griezmann says he copied team-mate Lionel Messi and NBA superstar LeBron James as he scored his first Barcelona goals in Sunday's win over Real Betis.

The France star, a €120million signing from Atletico Madrid, struck twice as the champion secured a 5-2 victory at Camp Nou.

Griezmann got his first by prodding in Sergi Roberto's cross before bending home a fine strike from the edge of the area in the second half.

READ| Barcelona 5-2 Real Betis: Griezmann double lights up Camp Nou

Carles Perez, Jordi Alba and Arturo Vidal completed Barca's scoring, with Betis' goals coming through Nabil Fekir and Loren Moron.

Griezmann celebrated his second by throwing confetti into the air and standing with arms outstretched, mimicking James' famous 'chalk toss' warm-up routine.

The forward also revealed how that goal came from watching Messi - who was in attendance but sidelined due to injury - do the same in training.

"I saw Leo do that in training and I copied him," Griezmann told Movistar.

He added of his celebration: "I like the ritual that LeBron James does before the games and I tried to copy him. I hope I can keep copying him for many more games - that would be the best signal."

After the game, Griezmann took to Twitter to say: "How beautiful it is to score at Camp Nou! Thank you for your support, may our colours shine!"

Barca's win was the first of the new season, Ernesto Valverde's side having lost 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao in its opening fixture.

It faces Osasuna on Saturday in its final match before the international break.

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