Atlético hold Arsenal despite penalty drama in Madrid

Arteta might have felt two of the three big calls from the ref did not go his way with some justification.

Wed, 29 Apr, 2026 - 22:10

Nick Callow

Atlético Madrid 1 Arsenal 1

Not quite enough for Arsenal to start booking their flights to the final in Budapest.

But they will definitely be pricing up the trip again after a Viktor Gyokeres and Julian Alvarez spot kicks amid three big penalty decisions left this gripping tie just in favour of Mikel Arteta’s men going back to London for next week’s second leg of this Champions League semi-final.

And after the previous night’s end-to-end basketball match between Paris St Germain and Bayern Munich, normal service was resumed in the current era of football. Two well-drilled conscientious sides went toe-to-toe, and the referee and VAR came to the fore as they love to do in European tournaments.

Arteta’s Arsenal are the only unbeaten team in this season’s competition, winning ten of their 13 matches now, including hitting four past Atletico in north London last autumn.

A stormy match and crowd were a given, but contrary to predictions of rain and storms, fans walked up to his marvellous stadium together, bathed in glorious Spanish sunshine as the atmosphere built to a crescendo.

Veterans of Arsenal’s last match here, a Europa League semi-final defeat under Arsene Wenger in 2018, will have been prepared for noise like nothing else and a concrete stadium that moves and sways to the rhythm of the fantastic home support.

It can take a while to adjust to for players and supporters alike. Thankfully, for Arsenal, their players looked switched on from the outset. Noni Madueke, starting again with Bukayo Saka primed for a cameo role from the bench, had the beating of his man on the right wing and pinged in a couple of dangerous crosses before Martin Odegaard had a stinging shot well blocked.

Julian Alvarez, Madrid’s prize striker, fired his side’s first warning shot, one that produced a full length save from Arsenal keeper David Raya.

Simeone’s side is so disciplined that it was never going to go all out on attacking and gift Arsenal the match early on.

The longer the match went, however, the more comfortable Arsenal looked. They controlled the ball for long periods as Madrid, surprisingly, sat back and allowed them to have the ball. How that tactic backfired for the home side when Gyokeres fired Arsenal into a deserved lead just before half-time.

Alvarez lost the ball and Arsenal took full advantage with a quick exchange of passes that ended up with Gyokeres preparing to pull the trigger a few yards inside the penalty area.

But he delayed long enough to draw the attention of central defender David Hancko and be sent flying from behind. The protests were inevitable as they were strong, but the VAR took no time at all to back the decision of Dutch referee.

Simeone made the necessary half-time switch of replacing his son Giuliano with Robin Le Normand. They looked stronger, just as the crowd tried to regain their stranglehold on the decibel levels. A 49th minute Alvarez free kick curled into the side netting some of them into thinking the Argentine had scored an equaliser. Not long after and he had with a devastatingly powerful 56th minute penalty.

Arsenal had just survived a major scare to escape with conceding a corner when the ball was knocked back into the area and hit the arm of Ben White having bounced off his leg. A similar incident ended in a spot kick in Paris on Tuesday night. Like then, this was unavoidable and far from deliberate but one that is usually given in Europe once the VAR gets involved.

Odegaard, not long back from injury, made way for Eberechi Eze in the aftermath of the goal as now Arsenal were up against a side with their confidence restored and their supporters believing once more. The extremely experienced Antoine Griezmann hit the woodwork with a cracking volley as Arsenal were hanging on for a spell.

Arteta had seen enough and acted by sending on Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard in a triple substitution to try and ease the pressure against a Spanish side now in full flow with about 20 minutes to go.

Atleti remained on top until another moment of spot kick drama when Eze was clipped by Hanko and another penalty was awarded with ten minutes left. This time the referee was called to the screen to check his call and, after umpteen reviews, rescinded his decision.

A home decision? Maybe, but the official was under incredible pressure from the crowd and Simeone to change his mind. It was more of a penalty than the handball, in Premier League terms anyway.

Arteta might have felt two of the three big calls from the ref did not go his way with some justification, but he would have settled for this result before kick-off, just as there is still cause for hope his counterpart Diego Simeone.

Atletico Madrid: Oblak 6, Llorente 6, Pubill 6, Hancko 5, Ruggeri 6, Simeone 5 (Le Normand 46), Koke 6, Cardoso 6 (Molina 88), Lookman 7, Griezmann 7, Alvarez 8 (Baena 77).

Arsenal: Raya 9, White 6 (Mosquera 88), Saliba 7, Gabriel 7, Hincapie 7, Rice 7, Zubimendi 6, Odegaard 7 (Eze ), Madueke 7 (Saka 69), Martinelli 6 (Trossard 69), Gyokeres 7 (Jesus 69).

Referee: Danny Makkelie (NED) 2.