Atletico Madrid and Arsenal are still evenly matched in their Champions League semi-final after a 1-1 first-leg draw that hinged on three penalties.
Viktor Gyokeres and Julian Alvarez each converted from the spot on either side of half-time, though a reversed penalty call prevented Arsenal from securing a possible winner to carry into the second leg at the Emirates.
Julian Alvarez and Noni Madueke both missed strong early chances, but Arsenal capitalised just before the break. Viktor Gyokeres was clumsily bundled to the ground by David Hancko in the box, and the Swede rose to slot his penalty beyond Jan Oblak, who guessed correctly.
After the interval, Atletico started brightly. Alvarez sent a free-kick narrowly wide before Ben White was penalised for a handball in the area following a VAR review. Alvarez confidently converted in the 56th minute, with David Raya rooted as the ball struck the top-left corner.
Antoine Griezmann, featuring in his last Champions League outing at the Metropolitano, later clipped the frame of the goal with a delicate chip. Raya was then forced into action from the resulting corner, stopping Alvarez.
Ademola Lookman had a late effort denied by Raya, and Arsenal were briefly awarded a chance to win the match from 12 yards. However, after consulting the monitor, the referee ruled that Hancko’s contact on Eberechi Eze was minimal and overturned the decision.
Data Debrief: On the spot
Atletico have never been beaten at home by an English team in a Champions League knockout-stage match (W3 D4), though they may feel they deserved more from this game.
They recorded 2.22 expected goals (xG) from 18 attempts, compared to Arsenal’s 1.5 xG, with the Gunners managing just two shots on target from 11 efforts.
Atleti scored and conceded a penalty in a Champions League match for the first time, while Arsenal have now done so twice.
Alvarez’s penalty marked his 25th goal in his 41st Champions League appearance—the fastest a South American has reached that milestone, surpassing Lionel Messi, who required 42 matches.