Arsenal snatch a draw from Atletico Madrid at home in the Champions League

Arsenal snatched  a positive draw from Atletico Madrid with a goal to represent them at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.

The match started quickly between the two teams and strong pressure from Atletico Madrid, and Arsenal's first chance came through Hincape and passed by the Atletico goal in the fifth minute.

Raya cleared a powerful shot from Alvarez in the 13th minute, and the match was stopped in the 22nd minute due to an injury, and Madueke hit the first shot that went past the right post of the goal in the 30th minute.

The Atletico Madrid defence blocked a shot by Martinelli in the 39th minute, and before the end of the first half, Arsenal were awarded a penalty after a Geokeris blocked by the Swede in the 43rd minute.

The second half started with pressure from Atletico Madrid for an equaliser, with Alvarez's first shot coming near the left post in the 50th minute, and Raya saved the Gunners' goal again from a goal by Lukman in the 54th minute.

In the 59th minute, Atletico Madrid were awarded a penalty after the ball hit Ben White's hand and Julian Alvarez was successfully executed, and Atletico Madrid missed two consecutive chances, the most dangerous of which was through Griezmann in the 64th minute.

In the 77th minute, Julian Alvarez left the pitch injured, and Simeone made an emergency substitution with the entry of Alex Baena.

In the 81st minute, the referee refused to award a penalty to Atletico Madrid's Madueke after returning to the VAR technique, and Arsenal tried and pressed hard to score the second goal before the referee blew the final whistle.

Arsenal coach Arteta entered the match with a formation consisting of: Raya, Hinkabi, Gabriel, Saliba, White, Declan Rice, Zubimendi, Odegaard, Martinelli, Giuseppe and Madueke.

Diego Simeone, the coach of Atletico Madrid, entered the match with a formation consisting of: "Oblak, Ruggieri, Hanko, Poplin Llorente, Lookman, Cardozo, Koki, Giuliano Simeone, Alvarez, Griezmann".

Simeone comments on Alvarez's injury and declares: Arsenal's penalty does not count

Simeone said in statements after the match, which was quoted by the newspaper "Ace": "Julian Alvarez's injury? He will undergo tests to find out the nature of the injury and hopefully it will not be serious," he added, adding: "How do I feel about the return match? I'm optimistic, I'm always optimistic."

"Juliano had a strong collision with Hincape early in the match and received a blow to his waist that bothered him a lot, hopefully the injury is not serious, Surloth said his leg was hurting during the warm-up, and we made sure it didn't get worse so he didn't take part."

"I don't believe in this kind of luck but I believe in decisiveness, the first half was even, they may have had more possession but there were no clear chances for either team, they are an excellent team, they have not lost a game in the Champions League, they are top of the Premier League, they came on and they were better than the starting players."

"Everything was great before the excellent second half where we had chances to win the game but we weren't decisive enough in those chances we had."

"We reduced their intensity of play, we improved our organisation which allowed us to reduce their chances of getting the ball back, we started to play much better in the last attacking third, and we created chances for Griezmann and Lukman, where we could have done more."

"Arsenal's penalty? For a penalty to count in the Champions League semi-finals it has to be a penalty, it seemed very slight to me and I thought it might not be a penalty."

"It was a great day, it was amazing to get to the stadium, I think the atmosphere of the stadium has rarely been so exciting, especially at the beginning of the game when we desperately needed the support of our fans, they will not be physically present in the second leg, but their souls and hearts will definitely be present."

Geocores: Arsenal deserve a second penalty against Atletico Madrid

Arsenal striker Victor Giukoris commented on the refereeing controversy over some of the decisions in  the match, telling TNT Sports: "I think we controlled the game well in the first half, we had some good chances and we managed to score."

"In the second half, they started the game much better and managed to score a goal, then we had some good chances at the end of the game, overall, it was a tough game, and it's hard to play on this pitch, but it's still only the first half."

Regarding the referee's decisions, he added: "I didn't watch either penalty, so it's hard to referee, but that's football, I don't know why the referee didn't count the second penalty (in favor of Arsenal), it seems that there is friction, but the decision is up to the referee."

"It wasn't easy after they scored the goal, they play with a lot of enthusiasm, we tried to play and regain the momentum we had in the first half, and we succeeded in that at the end of the game, but the second half was very difficult," he said.