Arsenal 1-1 Atletico Madrid : Griezmann ruins Wenger's party (UEL Review)
- Arpan Bhattacharjee
- Apr 27, 2018
- 3 min read
Antoine Griezmann scored a vital equalizer to give his side a genuine advantage before their home leg. The Frenchman scored eight minutes from the full time to seal a 1-1 draw in their Europa League semifinal against Arsenal.
The atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium was electric as this was the last home game for Arsene Wenger in European competition who recently announced his retirement after 22 glorious years as an Arsenal manager.
Electricity among the fans rose to the fullest when Atletico right back Sime Vrsaljko got sent off after collecting two yellow cards inside the opening 10 minutes giving the home side a huge advantage. The situation got worse for the Spanish side when referee Clement Turpin sent Diego Simeone off to the stands as he refused to control his anger following Vrsaljko’s dismissal.
Even after being one man down, Los Rojiblancos managed to hold the Gunners out till the Sixty first minute, when Alexandre Lacazette broke the deadlock as he smartly directed Jack Wilshere’s cross beyond Jan Oblak. Atletico almost vanished as attacking unit during the most stages of the game but the cunning Frenchman latched onto a defensive mistake of Laurent Koscielny and punished the hosts which altered the complexion of an interesting tie.
Atletico’s start wasn’t auspicious as Vrsaljko got the marching order from the referee within 10 minutes of the game. He was booked first due to a mistimed tackle on Jack Wilshere and the second one for a blatant foul on Lacazette. Arsenal started to capitalize the man advantage immediately as they pushed for an early goal. Lacazette wasted a volley wide of the frame from a lovely Danny Welbeck cross before Atletico’s Slovenian keeper Oblak kept out a header from the French forward.
Atletico boss Simeone wasn’t pleased with the sending off although it was a correct decision. He houled for punishment when Lucas Hernandez was brought down by Hector Bellerin in the 13th minute & Clement decided he had heard enough.
Diego Godin was the main man for the visitors who blocked a shot off Welbeck before Oblak denied the Englishman with his foot. Koscielny missed a difficult opportunity off Lacazette’s flick-on following a corner in 21st minute. Against the run of play, a marauding run of Thomas Partey around 37th minute almost gave Griezmann a golden opportunity to score, but the Colombian keeper Ospina had other ideas.
The Gunners started the second half with more determination, only to get blindsighted by stubborn Atletico defence. But soon the deadlock’s been broken when Griezmann was hustled out of possession on the edge of his own box and the ball was worked to Wilshere, who provided a delicious ball towards the back post where Alex Lacazette netted a spectacular finish.
The visitors were content with one goal deficit as they fielded their experienced defensive midfielder Gabi for striker Kevin Gameiro. But the 27 year old French forward was alive to the possibilities of a hopeful comeback, when his fellow countryman Koscielny slipped awkwardly, which made it very easy for Griezmann to skip past Ospina. Aaron Ramsey’s header during the closing minutes, forced Atletico’s number one to pull his best save of the night. But it wasn’t enough to give Wenger a golden farewell, instead the tie got more complicated for the Gunners.
- By Sayan Bandyopadhyay
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