Diego Costa scored the only goal in a dramatic night in Madrid to send Atletico into the Europa League final and put an end to Arsenal’s season.
Having drawn at the Emirates in the first-leg, the betting odds strongly favoured Diego Simeone’s side, and they did a professional job. Now football betting fans will back the Spaniards to lift the title, but that’s no consolation for Arsene Wenger in his last season as Gunners’ boss.
And in the other of tonight’s semi-final football games Marseille joined Atleti in the final after Rolando fired a dramatic extra time winner.
Atletico Madrid 1-0 (2-1 on agg.) Arsenal
Wenger started with David Ospina in goal, in preference to Petr Cech, but the cup keeper looked a little shaky from the off, clattering into Laurent Koscielny while making an early punch. And there was more bad news for the French centre back when he was stretchered off on eight minutes with a torn Achilles.
But Arsenal took the game to Atletico, playing with a high tempo and Alexandre Lacazette almost opened up the stubborn home defence, rounding Jan Oblak, but his angle was too tight. And then the Gunners paid a heavy price for switching off, on the stroke of half time, when Antoine Griezmann put through Diego Costa who shrugged off a sleepy defence to fire the ball past Ospina.
That could have knocked the stuffing out of Wenger’s team, but they came out in the second half with a clear intention to keep attacking, and dominated the ball, such that the home crowd began to get restless. But as Arsenal strived to get level, Costa and Griezmann looked a constant threat at the other end, and as the clock ticked down, the best defence in Europe used all its nous to break up Arsenal’s rhythm.
In all honesty Oblak didn’t have a lot to do, such was Atleti’s organisation. Who’d back against them in the final?
Salzburg 2-1 (2-3 on agg.) Olympique Marseille
Well Rudi Garcia would for a start! In a pulsating tie his Marseille side surrendered their two goal first-leg lead before scoring a dramatic extra time winner.
After a goalless first half Salzburg exploded into life and on 53 minutes Duje Caleta-Car set up Amadou Haidara to fire low into the corner. And if the Red Bull Arena needed any encouragement that was it, as the passionate home crowd roared their team forward. They rained shots down on the Marseille goal and drew level on aggregate when Bouna Sarr put through his own net.
The French were under siege but held firm and they almost nicked the lead when Florian Thauvin crashed the bar with a header. And that seemed to awaken his team as the visitors won a series of corners to finish normal time in decent shape.
The hosts came out for extra time all guns blazing and Munas Dabbur had an early shot blocked but, just as the game appeared to be heading for penalties the busy Dimitri Payet crossed for defender Rolando to fire low and hard into the corner.
What a game!
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