MADRID, April 30 — Julian Alvarez’s penalty secured Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in a nervy Champions League semi-final first leg clash on Wednesday.

Viktor Gyokeres sent the Premier League leaders ahead from the spot just before the interval after he was fouled, but Alvarez followed suit 10 minutes into the second half after Ben White’s handball.

Arsenal were upset at a late penalty decision being overturned following a VAR review when David Hancko made contact with Eberechi Eze in the area.

“I’m incredibly fuming,” said Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta. “It’s a clear and very obvious penalty.”

Atletico had the better for long periods but Arsenal’s solid defending helped them leave the Spanish capital in a good position to return to the Champions League final 20 years after their last appearance.

“Here, you have to suffer,” Arteta told Movistar. “Many teams have suffered here, including some of the best in the world.

“We had some good moments in the match and moments where we had to suffer. The margins are very slim.”

Atletico captain Koke said his side could be proud of how they played in the second half.

“We were the team we have to be – if we play at this level we can win,” Koke told Movistar.

“From my point of view they didn’t create much danger against us... the team defended well and they just had that penalty.”

What the game lacked in the dizzying goal rush of Paris Saint-Germain’s 5-4 win over Bayern Munich in the other semi-final the night before, it replaced with tension and a desperation not to fall behind.

Toilet paper rained down from the stands of the Metropolitano stadium minutes before kick-off, in a striking – if wasteful – display, which invited cynical jokes from some quarters about the calibre of the spectacle ahead.

In a tussle between arguably the continent’s two biggest teams never to lay a finger on the trophy neither wanted to blink first.

Atletico still have an old-style defensive reputation but pinned Mikel Arteta’s miserly Arsenal back in the early stages, with David Raya tipping Alvarez’s shot around the post.

The Gunners, a long way from Arteta’s eve-of-the-game demand they dominate proceedings, looked to smash and grab.

Noni Madueke, starting on Arsenal’s right flank with Bukayo Saka only fit for the bench, hammered just wide as last year’s beaten semi-finalists sporadically emerged from their half.

The next time they did, Gyokeres won a penalty. The Swedish striker, who might not have started if Kai Havertz had been fit, exchanged passes with Martin Zubimendi and Hancko clumsily shoved him in the back from behind.

Diego Simeone and Atletico veteran Antoine Griezmann begged for the decision to be reviewed but VAR saw no reason to intervene.

Gyokeres took the spot-kick himself, walloping it past Jan Oblak, who dived the right way but stood no chance of keeping it out.

Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Magalhaes walk with teammates after the match at Riyadh Air Metropolitano on April 29, 2026. — Reuters pic

Atletico battle back

Three-time runners-up Atletico, back in the semi-finals for the first time in nine years, came out guns blazing in the second half.

Raya saved Ademola Lookman’s drive with Gabriel blocking Griezmann’s follow-up.

The hosts pulled level from the penalty spot after White handled Marcos Llorente’s shot, the ball bouncing up and hitting his arm, which was away from his body.

Alvarez took it, and having missed in Atletico’s Copa del Rey final shoot-out defeat earlier in April, this time made no mistake with an unforgiving blast rivalling Gyokeres’s first-half effort.

MLS-bound Griezmann looped a shot off the crossbar and then sent the rebound off target as Atletico turned the screw in pursuit of an advantage to take into next Tuesday’s second leg.

“This is what we have to do in the away game,” said Griezmann. “(The second half) was much better in terms of intensity.”

Nigeria international Lookman twice came close and could end up ruing his missed chances, kept out by the alert Raya.

Arsenal thought they had won a second penalty when substitute Eze went down under a sluggish Hancko challenge but to their fury the referee changed his mind after a VAR review, deciding the Slovakian defender’s contact was minimal.

Arsenal next take on Fulham as they continue their battle with Manchester City for the Premier League title, while with little to play for in La Liga Simeone will rotate heavily, before this tie is decided in London. — AFP