Arsenal cruelly denied penalty by VAR in Champions League draw at Atletico

Arsenal scored one penalty, but VAR controversially denied them another in a 1-1 semifinal draw at Atletico Madrid.

Atletico Madrid and Arsenal traded ⁠penalties ⁠as Julian Alvarez’s second-half spot kick cancelled out Viktor Gyokeres’s first-half goal ⁠to earn the hosts a 1-1 draw in a Champions League semifinal first ⁠leg that simmered more than it sizzled.

In a tense and tactical game on Wednesday, 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 at half-time ahead.

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 the referee overturned after a VAR review.

The winners will face ‌Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich in the May 30 final in Budapest, with PSG ‌leading ‌5-4 from their first leg.

The second leg is next Tuesday in England.

Atletico last made it to the Champions League final in 2016, when they lost to city rival Real Madrid.