⏪ Atleti and Arsenal battle to UCL semi-final first leg stalemate | OneFootball

FULL TIME

Atleti's undefeated record against English opposition at home in the UCL knockout stage still stands after tonight's result.

FULL TIME: Atleti 1-1 Arsenal

A hard-fought battle in Madrid sees Atleti and Arsenal level at one-all before they head to the Emirates for the second leg of their UCL semi-final tie.

CHANCE!

A long-range hit from substitute Cristhian Mosquera stings the gloves of Oblak, but the Slovenian keeps the effort out.

NO PENALTY!!

Despite contact between Hancko and Eze, there appears to be not enough contact to warrant the on-pitch call standing!

Play resumes!

PENALTY!!

Eze is brought down in the box, once again by Hancko, gifting the Gunners a massive chance to retake the lead in the tie!

VAR is reviewing the incident here...

The debate surrounding White's handball continues to rage on socials...

CHANCE!

Raya comes up in a massive moment once again for Arsenal, denying Lookman from close range after the Nigerian international found himself free and clear in the box!

Those changes come on the back of Atleti finding their stride on the night in front of home support, with Simeone's men looking the more likely of the two to find a second strike before full-time.

A massive tripe-change for the Gunners here, including taking off the goalscorer

Alvarez's moment from the spot comes with a bit of history, too.

Does his future remain in Madrid, will he move to the east coast of Spain, or will he return to the Premier League?

CHANCES!!

Atleti nearly take the lead with another quickfire double chance, including an effort from Griezmann that beat Raya but couldn't beat the crossbar!

In the aftermath of Alvarez's equaliser, Arsenal made a first change of their own, bringing on Eberechi Eze to replace Martin Ødegaard.

GOAL!!!

And it was, as expected, Alvarez who finally got his goal on the night!

He rooted Raya to the spot with a thunderous penalty!!

Should there be questions about whether or not White should have been judged to have committed handball?

PENALTY!!!

Atleti have been awarded a penalty after Ben White is judged to have committed handball after VAR review!

CHANCES!!

A double-chance from Atleti and the Spanish side are perhaps unlucky not to pull level!

Ademola Lookman was through on goal but could only lash his effort at Raya, before a rebound fell to Antoine Griezmann, whose effort from close-in was bravely blocked by Gabriel!

Atleti are knocking!

CHANCE!

Alvarez, again, comes close for Atleti!

This time, it's a well-hit free kick that gets up and over the wall while looking destined for the top corner at the near post, but it could only curl into the side netting.

You can just sense that it's only a matter of time before he strikes for the home side.

We're back underway for the second half.

We'll have the first change of the night, and it's from Atleti just before the restart.

Robin Le Norman replaces Giuliano Simeone.

HALFTIME: Atleti 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal enjoy a one-goal lead as the two sides head into the halftime team talk, thanks to a viciously hit penalty by Viktor Gyökeres to put the Gunners ahead in what has been a fascinating tactical battle in the Spanish capital.

GOAL!!!

Yes! It will! The Swedish striker slams home his effort from the spot to give the Gunners the first lead of the night!

Atleti 0-1 Arsenal

PENALTY!!

Gyökeres is judged to have been brought down in the box by Dávid Hancko!

Will the deadlock be shattered just minutes before the halftime interval!?

Is the pendulum swinging in Arsenal's favour?

CHANCE!

Madueke comes close at the other end!

The former Chelsea winger receives from an Ødegaard layoff, cuts in to the top of the box, and lets fly a drive that glides just wide of Jan Oblak's far post!

Another half chance falls to Alvarez, who gets on the end of a looping cross from Matteo Ruggeri, but his header can only float over Raya's goal.

A different task for Declan Rice tonight from Mikel Arteta. Targeting Atleti's goal return in the competition, it seems...

CHANCE!

Arsenal look to counter after the Atleti corner with Viktor Gyökeres doing well to push his side forward, with a chance falling to captain Martin Ødegaard, who sees his goal-bound effort blocked inside the six-yard box by USMNT midfielder Johnny Cardoso!

It's all beginning to open up here!

CHANCE!

Julián Alvarez works the edge of the box to create enough space to unleash a rasping effort at goal, but David Raya comes up with a massive save to deny the Argentine striker!

Despite the pre-conceived notions of the two sides, it's Atleti who have enjoyed the lion's share of the ball across the opening ten minutes.

The first half-chance of the night for Arsenal came after a penetrative run from Noni Madueke, but neither Piero Hincapié nor Gabriel Martinelli could convert at the back post.

More from that from the England man will be needed on the night if the Gunners are to work past Atleti's low block.

Atleti fans have turned up in style on what is a first UCL semi-final at the Metropolitano 🧻

KICK OFF

And we're up and running on the night at Riyadh Air Metropolitano!

The teams are out on the pitch for the UCL anthem, then we'll have the usual final actions before a night of football in the Spanish capital kicks off!

🧵 Check out Mikel Arteta's full pre-match quotes, with kick-off at Riyadh Air Metropolitano less than 30 minutes away...

Arsenal and Atlético de Madrid are the two sides that have featured the most in UCL history without ever winning the competition.

With PSG and Bayern putting on a cracking night of action yesterday, will either side fancy their chances should they progress in their semi-final tie and reach Budapest?

There could be a little bit of pressure on Diego Simeone to set the record straight tonight in front of home support in the capital after Atleti suffered a one-sided defeat against Arsenal in the group stage.

Will we see a proactive and aggressive approach in the attack from Rojiblancos?

Across an ever-increasing football calendar, will wear and tear play a role tonight in Madrid?

An interesting stat that could define tonight's clash.

Of the 22 Champions League matches that David Raya, William Saliba, and Gabriel have been included in the XI, the Gunners have only conceded 11 goals and kept 13 clean sheets (per Squawka).

Can Arsenal lean on that this evening, or will Atleti find a way to frustrate in the Spanish capital?

And here are the line-ups from both sides ...

The Arsenal team news is in ...

Out friends at the Evening Standard have written an excellent preview of tonight's game that you can read here.

Team news for the game should be with us in 30 minutes.

Are we going to get a bit more of this from Atleti tonight?

Last night we were treated to easily the game of the season, and arguably the greatest game of all time. How will tonight's match-up? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Good evening everyone and welcome to our live coverage of the second Champions League semi-final second leg of the week.

It's Atlético de Madrid against Arsenal and we'll be covering every second of it from the Spanish capital. Stay tuned throughout the night for all the highlights on what promises to be a fascinating encounter between two of Europe's best.