LONDON (AP) – Atletico Madrid’s hopes of winning their first Champions League title have ended in a crushing defeat. Lost to Arsenal in the semi-finals Two penalty kicks in the second half went awry on Tuesday.
Arsenal won 1-0, advancing to their first final in 20 years with a 2-1 aggregate victory. Atletico were aiming to reach the final for the first time since 2016.
Atlético were looking for an equalizer, but in the 51st minute Giuliano Simeone felt he was fouled inside the area. The Atlético player fired a shot past goalkeeper David Raya, but defender Gabriel reversed his shot to thwart it.
Simeone fell and loudly protested to German referee Daniel Siebert. A video review upheld the referee’s decision not to award a penalty on the field.
“Everything was very fast, but what I felt was that when I was shooting, he made me unstable and I couldn’t shoot well. That’s what I felt,” Simeone said. “The referee didn’t even go and check VAR. The same thing happened with Antoine (Griezmann).”
The play with Griezmann came five minutes later when the French forward appeared to be stepped on by Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori inside the area. It was clear he had stepped on Griezmann’s foot, but as both players went to retrieve the ball, the referee called for a foul on Gabriel by Atlético’s Marc Poubil. Atlético did not believe that Poubil had fouled Gabriel.
Atletico manager Diego Simeone, Giuliano’s father, said: “I have nothing to say. We lost and we have to congratulate Arsenal.” “We have to keep working. We don’t focus on the visible, very obvious details.”
The manager again disrespected the referee in his post-match press conference, saying it was clear that the referee had called for a foul on Gabriel before the foul on Griezmann occurred.
After the match, Diego Simeone and the Atlético players applauded as the visiting fans sang in the stands.
Atlético midfielder Koke Lesurreción said: “I’m not going to talk about the referee. There’s no doubt that the referee tried to do his best, as happened in the first game.” “He knows how he should have refereed. I think he did his best.”
Both teams were unhappy that a penalty was not awarded in the first leg, which resulted in a 1-1 draw.
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Mr. Azzoni reported from Madrid.
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