MADRID, April 29 (Reuters) - Atletico Madrid and Arsenal traded penalties on Wednesday 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 someearly theatre by greeting the teams with an avalanche of toilet paper thrown from the stands on to the pitch.
Atletico enjoyed more possession early on but handed Arsenal the lead in the 44th minute when Gyokeres was brought down by David Hancko inside the box. The Sweden striker struck the penalty firmly past Jan Oblak to send Arsenal in ahead at halftime.
Atletico equalised in the 56th minute after the VAR spotted a Ben White handball inside the box from Marcos Llorente's shot. Alvarez fired the resulting penalty into the top left corner beyond David Raya.
Antoine Griezmann rattled the crossbar a little later while Arsenal were awarded a late penalty that was overturned by the referee after a VAR review.
"We gave it a go. We went behind early on from a penalty that I thought was a bit dubious. We had chances to win it but it will all be decided in the second leg. They defend very well and have some very quick players up front," Atletico captain Koke told Movistar Plus.
"We failed to finish off the game with the chances we had. We hope the match in London isn’t our last in the Champions League this season."
The winners after the May 5 return leg will face Paris St Germain or Bayern Munich in the final in Budapest on May 30, with PSG leading 5-4 from their first leg.
Arsenal, juggling the tie with their Premier League title race against Manchester City, fielded a weakened attack. Bukayo Saka was fit enough only for the bench after his recent return from an Achilles tendon problem and Eberechi Eze also started among the substitutes after being withdrawn early against Newcastle on Saturday, while Kai Havertz did not travel after picking up an injury in the same match.
Atletico began with bite, pressing high and snapping into challenges as Griezmann and Alvarez led the charge. Alvarez forced Raya into a fine one-handed save in the 14th minute with a fierce strike from the edge of the box.
Arsenal remained dangerous on the break and gradually grew into the match as Atletico dropped deeper and lost some of their early thrust, gifting Arsenal the opener shortly before halftime.
Trying to play out from the back, the hosts surrendered possession and Arsenal reacted sharply through Martin Zubimendi and Martin Odegaard, who looked for Gyokeres in the area. Hancko then brought down the Swede from behind, conceding a penalty that Gyokeres thundered past Oblak.
Diego Simeone's side responded after the break and nearly levelled three minutes after the restart when Alvarez curled a free kick from the edge of the box just past the right post.
The equaliser arrived in the 56th minute and led Mikel Arteta to send on Eze for Odegaard immediately afterwards, but Atletico kept pushing. Griezmann struck the crossbar in the 63rd minute, while Ademola Lookman wasted a big chance in the 74th, turning sharply in the box before shooting weakly at Raya.
Arsenal thought they had won another penalty when referee Danny Makkelie pointed to the spot after Hancko appeared to step on Eze, but he overturned the decision after a VAR review.
"In the first half I think we controlled the game quite well," said Gyokeres. "They started much better in the second half, maybe deserved to get a goal, and overall it was a tough game.
"At home with our fans it’ll be different for sure. We have to do our job and be at our best."
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas. Additional reporting by Chalie Devereux; editing by Clare Fallon)
