Arsenal are through to the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years, and the evening ended with the typical knockout-stage drama everyone’s used to seeing in European football's most prestigious tournament.
Bukayo Saka's first-half opener proved to be the moment of the night. Leandro Trossard's effort was palmed out by Jan Oblak, and Saka was first to react, tapping home from close range to give Arsenal a 2-1 aggregate advantage. Atletico did have their moments, though. Their forwards had a handful of chances, and a pair of VAR decisions denied them of two penalties, but Arsenal held firm, and the Emirates erupted at the final whistle.
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Tensions Boil Over Between Simeone and Former Colleague
Diego Simeone
Champions League knockout football has a way of pushing everyone involved to their absolute limit. By the time a semi-final second leg reaches its closing stages, with a place in the final hanging by a thread, the dugouts become a melting pot of emotion. Managers, staff, and officials are all operating on the rawest of nerves, and it takes very little to ignite something.
Add Diego Simeone into that environment and the stakes rise considerably. The Argentine has never been a manager who keeps his emotions at a safe distance from proceedings. On a night when his side were being eliminated from the Champions League at the semi-final stage, the intensity had nowhere left to go once he noticed something that got under his skin.
As the clock ticked into the final minute of stoppage time, with Atletico still searching desperately for an equaliser, Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta, who spent more than 11 years working alongside Simeone at Atleti, gestured towards German referee Daniel Siebert from the sideline, seemingly attempting to draw his attention to the time by pointing to his watch. It didn’t go unnoticed by his former colleague.
Simeone came charging across from his technical area to confront Berta, and what followed was a push that sent the Arsenal sporting director stumbling back towards the tunnel. Staff from both clubs moved quickly to separate the two, with the fourth official also stepping in to defuse the situation. Simeone returned to his dugout and continued directing his players as they chased a goal that never came.
Watch the full incident below:
Arsenal will head to Budapest on the 30th of May to face the winner of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain's semi-final, which takes place tomorrow, with PSG taking a one-goal advantage to the Allianz Arena after one of the best matches in Champions League history ended 5-4 to PSG.
For Simeone, the fallout from those closing seconds might have further consequences, which would only add to his reputation as one of the most frequently sanctioned managers in Europe.