Champions League: Atletico hit back to hold Arsenal in cagey semifinal first leg

Atletico Madrid and Arsenal traded penalties on Wednesday (April 29, 2026) as Julian Alvarez’s second-half ​spot kick cancelled out Viktor Gyokeres’s first-half goal to earn the two sides a 1-1 draw in a Champions League semi-final ‌first leg that simmered more than it sizzled.

After Tuesday’s nine-goal thriller between Paris St Germain and ​Bayern Munich in the first semi-final in France, the Metropolitano was treated to a far more ⁠tactical affair, although the home crowd did their best to provide some early theatre by greeting the teams with an avalanche of toilet paper thrown from the stands on to the pitch.