Atletico Madrid 1-1 Arsenal: The Gunners had a penalty canceled in the 78th minute of their Champions League semi-final first leg, with Mikel Arteta lamenting what could have happened.
Arsenal needed to strengthen their defense (Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
This runs the full distance. We didn’t get the semi-final goal the night before, but we did get plenty of brawling, brutality and an interesting battle to finish off the honors ahead of next week’s second leg.
Two penalties, another penalty reversed and Arsenal will feel like they struggled after a really good performance away and will probably feel they did enough to win. There will be some disappointment in not being able to secure a valuable victory for the Metropolitano, but in the end Mikel Arteta would have accepted the result before kick-off.
And they have a fantastic chance to reach next month’s final, as their unbeaten run in the Champions League has been extended to a club-record 13 games. Arsenal were extremely difficult to beat and despite Atletico’s heavy pressure in the second half, they stood firm with heroic performances from Declan Rice, David Raya and Gabriel.
I also have to mention Victor Goqueres, who put on his best performance in an Arsenal shirt, fighting for every ball and fighting for every ball. It was Gokeres who converted Arsenal’s home penalty, his 19th goal in all competitions this season, but Arsenal will feel they should have scored another goal after David Hanko’s challenge on Eberechi Eze was initially given and then overturned by VAR.
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Atlético manager Diego Simeone was screaming in the ear of referee Danny McCarey, who was watching the screen. The U-turn seemed tough, but flipping it over after making the U-turn was even tougher. To be honest, it seemed as obvious as the others as Julian Alvarez scored after Marcos Llorente’s shot hit Ben White’s body and it hit his arm.
Arsenal certainly did enough to win. As good as the team had been in the first half, they displayed a sharp attack and took a foothold in the game for the first time since Simeone replaced his son Giuliano at half-time to lead by five points. To be honest, no one expected the nine-goal thriller between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich to be repeated again, but it was still impressive.
Arsenal were active in attack in the first half thanks to the sharpness of Gokeres, Noni Madueke and the speed of Gabriel Martinelli. It may not have been the dream front three for some fans, but they did a good job.
Who will advance to the finals? Let us know your predictions in the comments section.
Referee Danny McCarey overturns Arsenal’s penalty (Image: Manu Reino/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
The first half belonged to Arsenal, apart from a great shot from Alvarez that was saved by Raya. Gokeres’ powerful run and cutback set up Martin Odegaard for a big chance. His slight hesitation allowed Johnny Cardoso to make a great block.
Arsenal then took the lead. Gokeres was clearly backed by Hanko and referee Danny McCarey awarded a penalty after a VAR check. One thing that Gokeres is good at is taking penalties. The £64m Swede fired home the goal past Atletico keeper Jan Oblak.
But at half-time, coach Simeone flipped the switch. They pushed Arsenal in with a five-point lead. Atlético were much better. Ademola Lookman was denied by Raya and Gabriel made a great block from Antoine Griezmann’s follow-up.
The reprieve did not last long. A penalty was awarded against White, and Alvarez fired home. Arsenal survived the onslaught with Griezmann hitting the bar. Arsenal turned the tide and achieved a good result. They should have been awarded another penalty, but it ended the play fair and square.
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