Antoine Griezmann is giving Atletico Madrid fans hope that a late run for the title is still possible.

The France forward is peaking at the best possible moment, just before the decisive match against Spanish league leader Barcelona.

Griezmann will enter Sunday's game at Camp Nou boosted by two outstanding performances in the last two league games. He had a hat trick against Sevilla last Sunday and scored four goals against Leganes on Wednesday.

"He is extraordinary and has shown that many other times," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "He has a lot of talent and makes a difference. The team has been playing well so it can help him perform at this level."

A win by Atletico this weekend could potentially cut Barcelona's lead to one point entering the final stretch of games. Atletico is four points behind the Catalan club, which visits Las Palmas on Thursday to try to regain a seven-point lead.

Barcelona was 11 points ahead of Atletico a few weeks ago, but Simeone's team has been thriving. It won eight straight games in all competitions, including six in a row in the league. Its last league loss was at Espanyol last year.

"We are going through a great moment," Simeone said. "But we go to Barcelona knowing that we will be facing the best team."

Another stellar performance by Griezmann would come in handy for Atletico.

Griezmann has 12 goals in his last nine matches in all competitions. With his goals in the 4-0 win against Leganes on Wednesday, he took his league tally to 15, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo for fourth in the scoring chart behind Iago Aspas, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, who has 22.

Griezmann's recent performances have put him in good terms with Atletico fans who had jeered him after his struggles earlier this season.

Griezmann was upset and publicly criticized the fans, igniting rumors that he could be looking for a way out of the Spanish club. There were reports he received many offers to leave Atletico in the most recent transfer window, including from Barcelona.

"I'm trying to make the fans happy," he said after the Leganes match. "Maybe I made a few mistakes (with my attitude toward the fans), but I haven't been wrong on the field. Now we are enjoying this good moment together and hopefully it will continue like this until the end."

Simeone recently said Atletico fans should do everything possible to try to keep Griezmann in the club for as long as possible.

The Frenchman received a standing ovation by the crowd at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium when he was substituted in the second half against Leganes.

Griezmann, who has yet to score at Camp Nou with Atletico, said he has no immediate plans of leaving.

"I'm very happy here, and so is my family, and in the end that's the most important thing" he said. "I'm still improving in football and I still have a lot to learn from (Simeone) and from my teammates."

Tottenham win 6-1

London: Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino said the controversial Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system had been "embarrassing" after his side came through an incident-packed FA Cup replay against Rochdale at Wembley on Wednesday.

Spurs, who eventually won 6-1 on the back of a second-half hat-trick from Fernando Llorente, were twice denied goals, had one penalty claim rejected and another accepted on the word of the VAR during an extraordinary opening period at the national stadium.

Fans at Wembley, Spurs's temporary home while their successor ground to White Hart Lane is built, had no way of knowing the reasons behind the VAR's decisions as, unlike the systems in use for rugby and cricket, they were not broadcast or displayed on a giant screen.

Moreover, there were several occasions when it took the VAR a lengthy amount of time to reach a verdict, while there were others when he appeared to be over-ruling an on-field call that did not involve a clear and obvious error.

Once again, technology was the main talking point of a match where Son Heung-Min put Spurs ahead only for Stephen Humphrys to equalise before Rochdale, bottom of third-tier League One, hit the post through Andy Cannon.

Llorente's treble put the result beyond doubt, with South Korea star Son scoring a second goal and substitute Kyle Walker-Peters his first for Spurs at senior level deep into stoppage time.

Pochettino's joy at seeing Spurs set up a quarter-final with Swansea was tempered by his concern about the impact on the game of VAR, which is being trialled in English cup competitions this season.

‘Love the game we know'

"The first half was a little bit embarrassing for everyone," he said. "I'm not sure that system is going to help. We love the game we know, football is about emotion but if we are going to kill emotion then people who love football will not be happy."

There have been suggestions VAR could be deployed at this year's World Cup in Russia but Pochettino insisted: "I think football is about to make a mistake. Referees can make a mistake. When we watched the action at half-time it was difficult to take some decisions.

"The referee is the boss on the pitch and has the last word, always. And my worry is now we are talking about a machine and not football." Spurs thought they had taken an early lead thanks to Erik Lamela's close-range finish.

But referee Paul Tierney, after consulting VAR Graham Scott, ruled it out for what appeared to be the slightest of contacts by Spanish striker Llorente on Harrison McGahey in the build-up.

Tierney consulted the VAR again to deny Lucas Moura a penalty but Spurs did take the lead soon afterwards when Son slotted home in the 23rd minute.

With Harry Kane on the bench, Son was Spurs' designated penalty-taker.

He got a chance from the spot when, after another lengthy VAR consultation, Tottenham were awarded a penalty for a foul by Matt Done on Kieran Trippier.

Son then put the penalty into the back of the net only for Tierney to disallowed the effort because Son had stopped in his run-up.

Inevitably in such a match, the eventual decision was preceded by yet more prolonged involvement of the VAR.

"The decisions the VAR make need to be explained to the supporters," said Rochdale manager Keith Hill.