Atletico Madrid 1-1 Arsenal
Champions League report 
by Layth Yousif at Estadio Metropolitano

ON A NIGHT of high drama on Wednesday in the Spanish capital, Arsenal emerged with a hugely creditable 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in the cauldron of the Estadio Metropolitano. 

In front of 68,421 fans, including more than 4,000 travelling Gunners supporters, Viktor Gyokeres’s emphatic first-half penalty put the Gunners ahead moments before half time, before Julian Alvarez’s equally powerful spot-kick leveller after the interval to ensure there is all to play for in the second leg of this gripping Champions League semi-final next week in north London.

Off the field before kick-off, during a charged Madrid night, baton-wielding riot police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse home supporters who had previously lined the streets leading to the stadium in a colourful procession before kick-off - the vast majority of whom peacefully behaved — as acrid tear gas mixed with the smell of smoke from firecrackers and bright red pyro that had been let off by fans. 

Despite the chaos and panic among thousands of supporters, including a number of travelling Arsenal fans caught up in the melee, there were no reported casualties.

On an eventful night, there was also a post-match melee when boss Diego Simeone accused Ben White of disrespect when walking over the club’s crest located between the dugouts and the entrance to the players’ tunnel, as the former Argentine international laid his hand on the Arsenal defender, who reacted by confronting the long-serving Atleti boss. 

The spat coming hours after Arsenal staff complained to Uefa about the length of the grass, following a number of incidents that saw players lose their footing in previous matches, including Tottenham’s 5-2 defeat at the same stadium last month.

Back on the field, as the game progressed at 1-1 there was further drama when referee Danny Makkelie rescinded his original award of a second penalty to Mikel Arteta’s side after being instructed by VAR to head to the monitor to think again. 

With the score at 1-1 in the 78th minute, Dutch referee Makkelie pointed to the spot after Atletico defender David Hancko caught substitute Eberechi Eze, with a late tackle in the box.

Standing at the monitor for a prolonged period of time with Atleti’s combative head coach Diego Simeone in proximity, sharing his opinion while gesticulating wildly, the pressure was on the hard-pressed official from the Netherlands to make a decision. 

Which he eventually did, much to Arteta’s frustration, by changing his mind, after viewing at least 12 replays of the incident on the pitch-side monitor, before deciding the contact was not strong enough.

Makkelie had already awarded two penalties – one for Arsenal for a Hancko foul on Gyokeres, and one for Atletico for a Ben White ­handball after Marcos Llorente fired the ball at him from close range, which saw Alvarez convert with panache, with Raya not even moving.

“We were disappointed for the Atletico penalty,” Arteta said. “In the Premier League, it’s not a penalty but here I have to accept that with the rules and how consistent they’ve been, I accept that this is a handball.

“What I’m incredibly ­fuming with is how the hell the penalty on Ebs gets overturned in the ­manner that it happened when there is no clear and obvious error. This changes the course of the game. And at this level, I’m sorry but this cannot happen.

“A very clear explanation of the decision is what happens for a period of time [when] a referee has to watch it 13 times. What’s more clear than that? It’s impossible and we are all fuming about it. We need to apply the rules … [the way] they applied the rules on Ben White’s penalty.

“When you have fought so hard for nine months to be in this ­position … I mean, that’s another goal that changed completely the course of the tie. And it cannot happen. We put so much on it. So, so, so much on it. This cannot happen.”

At a relentlessly raucous Metropolitano, which included a sea of white tissues and what appeared to be toilet paper hurled in a colourful spectacle moments before kick-off from all sides of the stadium, Simeone’s Atletico could have wrapped up the tie before the now tantalising prospect of the second leg in north London next week.

Prior to Alvarez’s equaliser, Ademola Lookman forced Raya into a save before Gabriel Magalhaes produced an excellent block to deny Antoine Griezmann from the rebound as the hosts dominated.

Following Alvarez’s equaliser, the storied veteran Griezmann hit the crossbar before Lookman should have scored a second for Atletico, but the former Leicester attacker fired straight at Raya from close range, leaving a winner-takes-all clash in N5 next week.

In the aftermath of billionaire moneybags PSG’s ridiculous 5-4 win over runaway Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, no wonder Arteta reflected after such a mesmerising match in Madrid that proved you don’t need nine goals for an entertainingly absorbing battle: “What a privilege to play the Champions League semi-final in this stadium. What an energy, what an atmosphere they created.”