By Razeen Gutta
Julian Alvarez’s second-half penalty ensured Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 with Arsenal in a tense Champions League semi-final first leg at the Metropolitano on Wednesday.
Arsenal struck first just before half-time when Viktor Gyokeres won and converted a spot-kick after being pushed by David Hancko.
Jan Oblak dived the right way but could not stop the powerful finish.
Atletico, semi-finalists for the first time in nine years, dominated early and equalised 10 minutes after the restart.
Ben White was penalised for handball from Marcos Llorente’s shot and Alvarez blasted past David Raya, making amends for a Copa del Rey shootout miss.
Antoine Griezmann hit the crossbar and Ademola Lookman went close twice as Diego Simeone’s side pressed for a winner.
Arsenal thought they had a late penalty when Eberechi Eze went down under Hancko’s challenge, but VAR overturned the decision for minimal contact.
The Gunners defended resolutely to keep the tie level ahead of next Tuesday’s return leg in London.
In the other semi-final on Tuesday, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain edged Bayern Munich 5-4 in an absolute classic.
Harry Kane opened the scoring from the spot to become the first Englishman to net in six straight Champions League games.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembele each scored twice for PSG, with Joao Neves also on target.
Bayern replied through Michael Olise, Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz in a nine-goal contest that Luis Enrique called “a game with a rhythm I’ve never seen before.”
The result leaves all to play for next Wednesday with Bayern expecting quite the backing from the Munich faithful.
Pictured above: Viktor Gyokeres
Source: @arsenal
