Atletico Madrid 1-1 Arsenal: Honours even after intriguing first leg | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid and Arsenal played out an intriguing 1-1 draw in the Spanish capital tonight, with both goals coming from the penalty spot.

Viktor Gyökeres broke the deadlock shortly before the break, converting from the spot with power and precision to give The Gunners the lead. However, shortly into the second-half, Atleti drew level when Juliá Àlvarez fired his penalty kick past David Raya and into the top corner.

As It Happened

Atletico Madrid had the better of the opening five minutes, pinning Arsenal in their own half but failing to test Raya. Arsenal’s first chance came moments later, however, when Noni Madueke hung the ball up at the back post, but neither Piero Hincapié nor Gabriel Martinelli properly staked their claim to the ball, and it instead flew wide.

Raya was called into action for the first time shortly before the 15th minute, denying Álvarez from the edge of the box. Arsenal skipper Martin Ødegaard almost opened the scoring seconds later, but saw his shot well blocked by Johnny Cardoso. A break in play followed, to allow Gyökeres to receive medical treatment.

Álvarez came close again on the half-hour mark, when he beat Gabriel to a header, but the Argentine couldn’t direct his effort on target. Minutes later, Madueke was at the heart of another Gunners attack, this time going alone and firing narrowly wide of Jan Oblak’s goal.

Gyökeres won The Gunners a penalty shortly before the break when Dávid Hancko pushed him in the back inside the area. The Swede stepped up to the spot and dispatched the ball past Oblak with power and precision, giving his side the lead going into half-time.

Diego Simeone made one change at the break, replacing his son, Giuliano Simeone, with experienced French defender Robin Le Normand. Álvarez appeared to find the leveller for Atleti just minutes into the second 45, when his free-kick made the side netting ripple. Ademola Lookman and Antoine Griezmann were next up to try and equalise for the hosts, but Raya was equal to the task with two superb saves.

The resultant corner saw Atleti awarded a penalty of their own when Hincapié was penalised, perhaps harshly, for handball inside the area. Álvarez was the man to step up, and he too found the net from the spot to net his 10th Champions League goal of the season. Raya was rooted to the ground whilst the ball rifled into the top corner. Mikel Arteta made his first change following the goal, with Ødegaard making way for Eberechi Eze.

Griezmann came close again on the hour mark, when his curling effort rebounded off the crossbar. A triple change followed from Arsenal, with a new look front three entering the fray when Martinelli, Madueke and Gyökeres were withdrawn in favour of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard.

Lookman twisted and turned inside the area with less than 20 minutes remaining, but his shot was straight at Raya. Álvarez’s night came to an end shortly after, when he was replaced by Álex Baena for the remaining 15 minutes of regular time.

Another penalty appeared to be awarded to Arsenal just moments later, when Eze was brought down by Hancko inside the box, but the decision was overturned following a lengthy VAR review. The visitors’ final change saw Ben White replaced by Cristhian Mosquera. The Spaniard was straight into the heart of the action, forcing a strong save out of Oblak. Cardoso was then replaced by 2022 World Cup winner Nahuel Molina for the hosts as the game entered seven minutes of additional time.

The Argentinian came close to giving his side the lead late in the night, when his right-footed piledriving effort narrowly cleared the crossbar, bringing the game to a close with the scores level and perfectly poised for next week’s second leg in North London.