WATCH: Griezmann, Gabi Secure Europa League Title for Atletico Madrid vs. Marseille
Atletico Madrid may not have had Diego Simeone on the touchline, but it had Antoine Griezmann on the field, and that was good enough in the Europa League final.
Griezmann's double put Atletico Madrid in command of the final, and captain Gabi iced the 3-0 win over Marseille with a late dagger in Lyon, France, where the club lifted a third Europa League trophy, despite its manager being suspended for the final.
Atletico Madrid is no stranger to European finals, playing in its fifth since 2010 (two Champions League, three Europa League). Marseille, meanwhile, has never won the Europa League title, now three times finishing as a runner-up, and entered the day hoping to claim its first piece of European silverware since winning the Champions League title back in 1993.
Four minutes in, Valere Germain nearly gave Marseille a dream start. Dimitri Payet put it on a platter for the French forward, threading the needle with a through ball, but Germain put his close-range chance over Jan Oblak's goal to keep it 0-0.
Marseille continued to pressure Oblak and the Atletico Madrid defense, with Bouna Sarr firing another warning shot in the 12th minute on a low blast from distance that hooked wide of the post.
Atletico Madrid struggled to find its footing in the attack and only came up with a half-chance off a cleared throw-in. Koke acrobatically tried to karate-kick-volley a ball from 20 yards, but it sailed well wide of goalkeeper Steve Mandanda's post in the 15th minute.
Marseille's crispness at the beginning turned into shambles in the 21st minute. A horrible giveaway off a simple pass from Mandanda out of the back allowed Griezmann to slot home on a 1-v-1, giving Atletico Madrid the lead.
Things got worse for Marseille soon after. Payet was forced off with an injury just after the half-hour mark, depriving the French side of its playmaker and captain. He was replaced by Maxime Lopez, and with France's World Cup roster due to be unveiled, Payet had bigger concerns beyond the final as he limped off.
Griezmann doubled the lead in the 49th minute on a sequence that started with a Marseille throw-in. Atletico forced the giveaway, and Koke sprung Griezmann into the box, where he took the right touches and lofted a chip over the on-rushing Mandanda to make it 2-0.
Gabi put the exclamation point on the final with a dagger in the 89th minute, firing home with a right-footed finish after Koke delivered another assist with a cross to the right.
Here were the lineups for both teams:
The European slate for the season wraps up on May 26 with the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool in Kiev, Ukraine.
