\n<\/p>\n
Julian Alvarez\u2019s penalty secured Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in a nervy Champions League semifinal first leg clash.<\/p>\n
Viktor Gyokeres sent the Premier League leaders ahead from the spot just before the interval on Wednesday after he was fouled, but Alvarez followed suit 10 minutes into the second half after Ben White\u2019s handball.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Arsenal were upset at a late penalty decision being overturned following a VAR review when David Hancko made contact with Eberechi Eze in the area.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m extremely disappointed and annoyed,\u201d Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is against the rules. You can\u2019t overturn that decision when you have to look at it 13 times,\u201d which the ref allegedly did when viewing the replays.<\/p>\n \u201cThat cannot happen at this level.\u201d<\/p>\n Atletico had the better of it for long periods, but Arsenal\u2019s solid defending helped them leave the Spanish capital in a good position to return to the Champions League final 20 years after their last appearance.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were the team we have to be. If we play at this level, we can win,\u201d said Atletico captain Koke of his team\u2019s second-half display on Movistar.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom my point of view, they didn\u2019t create much danger against us \u2026 the team defended well, and they just had that penalty.\u201d<\/p>\n What the game lacked in the dizzying goal rush of Paris Saint-Germain\u2019s 5-4 win over Bayern Munich in the other semifinal the night before, it replaced with tension and a desperation not to fall behind.<\/p>\n Toilet paper rained down from the stands of the Metropolitano stadium minutes before kick-off, in a striking \u2013 if wasteful \u2013 display, which invited cynical jokes from some quarters about the calibre of the spectacle ahead.<\/p>\n In a tussle between arguably the continent\u2019s two biggest teams never to lay a finger on the trophy neither wanted to blink first.<\/p>\n Atletico still have an outdated defensive reputation but pinned Mikel Arteta\u2019s miserly Arsenal back in the early stages, with David Raya tipping Alvarez\u2019s shot around the post.<\/p>\n The Gunners, a long way from Arteta\u2019s eve-of-the-game demand they dominate proceedings, looked to smash and grab, with Marc Pubill blocking from Martin Odegaard on a quick breakaway.<\/p>\n Noni Madueke, starting on Arsenal\u2019s right flank with Bukayo Saka only fit for the bench, hammered just wide from distance as last year\u2019s beaten semifinalists sporadically emerged from their half.<\/p>\n The next time they did, Gyokeres won a penalty. The Swedish striker, who might not have started if Kai Havertz was fit, exchanged passes with Martin Zubimendi, and Hancko clumsily shoved him in the back from behind.<\/p>\n Diego Simeone and Atletico veteran Antoine Griezmann begged for the decision to be reviewed, but VAR saw no reason to intervene.<\/p>\n Gyokeres took the spot-kick himself, walloping it past Jan Oblak, who dived the right way but stood no chance of keeping it out.<\/p>\n Three-time runners-up Atletico, back in the semifinals for the first time in nine years, came out guns blazing in the second half.<\/p>\n Raya saved Ademola Lookman\u2019s drive with Gabriel blocking Griezmann\u2019s follow-up.<\/p>\n The hosts pulled level from the penalty spot after White handled Marcos Llorente\u2019s shot, the ball bouncing up and hitting his arm, which was away from his body.<\/p>\n Alvarez took it, and having missed in Atletico\u2019s Copa del Rey final shoot-out defeat earlier in April, this time made no mistake with an unforgiving blast rivalling Gyokeres\u2019s first-half effort.<\/p>\n MLS-bound Griezmann looped a shot off the crossbar and then sent the rebound off target as Atletico turned the screw in pursuit of an advantage to take into next Tuesday\u2019s second leg.<\/p>\n Nigeria international Lookman twice came close and could end up ruing his missed chances.<\/p>\n Arsenal thought they had won a second penalty when substitute Eze went down under a sluggish Hancko challenge, but the referee changed his mind after a VAR review, deciding the Slovakian defender\u2019s contact was minimal.<\/p>\n Arsenal next take on Fulham as they continue their battle with Manchester City for the Premier League title, while with little to play for in La Liga, Simeone will rotate heavily, before this tie is decided in London.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Julian Alvarez\u2019s penalty secured Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in a nervy Champions League semifinal first leg clash. Viktor Gyokeres sent the Premier League leaders ahead from the spot just before the interval on Wednesday after he was fouled, but Alvarez followed suit 10 minutes into the second half after Ben White\u2019s handball. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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