Atletico hosts Arsenal at Metropolitano

Atlético Madrid hosted Arsenal on Wednesday night in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal, with a pre-match dispute over the Metropolitano pitch adding to the buildup. (telegraph.co.uk) (uefa.com) Arsenal asked UEFA to inspect the grass length before kickoff, according to match coverage from Madrid. Atlético had already faced similar complaints earlier this month before the quarterfinal second leg against Barcelona. (telegraph.co.uk) (elbotola.com) The team news was concrete by kickoff. Atlético started Jan Oblak, Marcos Llorente, Marc Pubill, David Hancko, Matteo Ruggeri, Johnny Cardoso, Koke, Giuliano Simeone, Ademola Lookman, Antoine Griezmann and Julián Alvarez. (atleticodemadrid.com) Arsenal left Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze on the bench and went with David Raya behind Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel and Piero Hincapié. Declan Rice, Martín Zubimendi and Martin Ødegaard anchored midfield, with Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Martinelli up front. (telegraph.co.uk) (11v11.com) Arteta arrived with injuries to Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, while Riccardo Calafiori and Eze were available. Sky Sports reported Saka was back in the squad after returning from injury off the bench against Newcastle United on Saturday. (skysports.com) The semifinal sits in a bracket already shaped by goals. Paris Saint-Germain beat Bayern Munich 5-4 in Tuesday’s first leg, and the winner of Atlético-Arsenal will meet one of those clubs in the May 30 final in Budapest. (uefa.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Arsenal reached Madrid as the only unbeaten team left in this season’s competition, with 10 wins, two draws and just five goals conceded in 12 matches, according to UEFA. Atlético came in fourth in La Liga and had won five of seven home Champions League matches. (uefa.com) The route here sharpened the stakes. Arsenal eliminated Sporting Clube de Portugal 1-0 on aggregate, while Atlético recovered from a 2-0 first-leg loss to beat Barcelona 3-2 across two legs. (uefa.com) For both clubs, the first leg in Madrid was a shot at ending a long wait. UEFA’s preview billed Atlético as three-time runners-up and Arsenal as the 2006 finalists, with neither side yet having won the competition. (uefa.com)