It was far from the nine-goal thriller that Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich gave fans in the City of Light last night, but there are still plenty of talking points to take away from tonight’s game.
And as the old saying goes, it really was a game of two halves.
Arsenal was on top for the first 45 minutes and the scoreline reflected that. Diego Simeone’s squad then came out like men possessed in the second half and managed to pull themselves level.
But the main talking points will undoubtedly be around the referee and VAR.
Three penalty decisions were whistled in this game, and oddly enough, it seemed that each time a spot kick was awarded, the resulting VAR check became more onerous – with the final decision being overturned by the referee.
Regardless, the tie remains all square heading into the second leg at the Emirates on Tuesday. It doesn’t really matter if either or both sides feel decisions tonight went against them, the task for the second leg is simple.
Winner takes all.
For Atlético, a chance to return to its first final in a decade is at stake. For Arsenal, a first final in 20 years.
For both, a chance to keep their dreams alive of lifting the biggest and most important trophy in the European club game for the very first time.