Arsenal reached the Champions League final for the first time since 2006, beating Atletico Madrid 1-0 at the Emirates in the semi-final second leg to advance 2-1 on aggregate. The result eliminates Los Colchoneros from European competition and ends a 20-year wait for the London club at this stage of the tournament.
The tie had been level heading into the second leg, the sides having drawn 1-1 at the Metropolitano in Madrid, where Viktor Gyökeres converted from the spot for ******* nal and Julián Álvarez equalised for Atletico via a penalty of his own.
Bukayo Saka (23) scored the only goal of the second leg in the 44th minute, turning in a rebound at close range after Jan Oblak had parried a shot from Leandro Trossard. It was a straightforward finish from inside the six-yard box, but it proved sufficient to send ******* nal through on aggregate.
Reports ahead of kick-off had noted that fireworks were set off outside Atletico’s team hotel at approximately 1:30 a.m. the night before the match, an apparent attempt to disrupt the visitors’ preparations – though Simeone made no public reference to it in the build-up to kick-off.
Arsenal’s defensive organisation was central to securing the result. With a 1-0 lead and aggregate parity broken, Mikel Arteta’s side managed the second half without conceding the chance that would have forced extra time, restricting Atletico to speculative efforts from distance.
The tie had been level heading into the second leg, the sides having drawn 1-1 at the Metropolitano in Madrid, where Viktor Gyökeres converted from the spot for ******* nal and Julián Álvarez equalised for Atletico via a penalty of his own.
Bukayo Saka (23) scored the only goal of the second leg in the 44th minute, turning in a rebound at close range after Jan Oblak had parried a shot from Leandro Trossard. It was a straightforward finish from inside the six-yard box, but it proved sufficient to send ******* nal through on aggregate.
Reports ahead of kick-off had noted that fireworks were set off outside Atletico’s team hotel at approximately 1:30 a.m. the night before the match, an apparent attempt to disrupt the visitors’ preparations – though Simeone made no public reference to it in the build-up to kick-off.
Arsenal’s defensive organisation was central to securing the result. With a 1-0 lead and aggregate parity broken, Mikel Arteta’s side managed the second half without conceding the chance that would have forced extra time, restricting Atletico to speculative efforts from distance.
2 months ago
