Arsenal, Atletico Madrid Draw as Fans React to 1st Leg of UCL Semifinal Defined by Penalties

Atletico Madrid and Arsenal battled to a 1-1 draw in a hard-fought Champions League semifinal first leg on Wednesday at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid.

Viktor Gyokeres' penalty gave Mikel Arteta's visitors the lead just before halftime. Julian Alvarez answered with a spot-kick of his own after the break for a result that leaves next week's second leg wide open.

The draw was a world away from Paris Saint-Germain's stunning 5-4 win against Bayern Munich 24 hours earlier, a match that entered the record books as the highest-scoring semifinal in the competition's history.

Arsenal looked the more confident team in possession as the first half got going, snapping passes together and controlling the rhythm of play. Captain Martin Odegaard saw his early effort desperately blocked, while Noni Madueke curled a decent attempt wide from range after neat interplay in the middle.

Many fans expected few chances in this one due to the defensive nature of both teams. Alvarez had the only shot on target after 40 minutes, the famine to last night's feast between PSG and Bayern.

However, Arsenal notched the breakthrough just before the break after Gyokeres hit the deck under pressure from David Hancko. 

Gyokeres brushed himself off to smash the spot-kick through the gap in Jan Oblak's arms.

Alvarez, who scored a stunning free-kick in the quarterfinal victory over Barcelona, nearly curled a similar set piece beyond David Raya and into the Arsenal net shortly after the restart.

Raya stood up well to an excellent chance for Ademola Lookman moments later, before Gabriel's vital block stopped a surefire goal for Antoine Griezmann.

Atletico's momentum soon paid off. The ball struck Ben White's hand in an unnatural position, giving Alvarez the chance to level the score from the penalty spot. He delivered just like Gyokeres earlier, with Raya barely moving to stop his effort on goal.

The home crowd erupted with the strike, and nearly had a second to celebrate shortly after when Griezmann's brilliant effort crashed off the bar.

Lookman had another huge chance with 15 minutes left, but once again shot straight at Raya, who would have been fearing the worst.

Arsenal very nearly punished the home side, with Hancko catching Eberechi Eze in the box.

However, the ref was called to look at VAR as contact appeared minimal and the ball had gotten away from the Arsenal attacker. The decision was overturned to spare Hancko more blushes on a poor night for the defender.

Potentially the biggest talking point from the latter moments of the match was Alvarez heading off with an apparent injury. He is Atletico's best player and the team desperately need him fit for next Tuesday's return leg in North London.

As it stands, both Arteta and Diego Simeone will be confident heading into the decisive tie, which will send one of these teams through to meet the winner of PSG and Bayern.