Atletico Madrid and Arsenal London meet on Wednesday evening at 22:00 in the second semi-final of the Champions League (the second leg will take place in England on May 5). On Tuesday, in the first semi-final, PSG prevailed 5-4 in front of Bayern Munich, at the end of a spectacular game, designated by specialists as the “match of the year”.
Atletico Madrid and Arsenal are preparing for their fourth straight clash in European competitions, one of which is taking place in the current edition of the UEFA Champions League. In the league phase, in October last year, the “gunners” prevailed categorically with 4-0, a result that remains the most drastic defeat in the history of the Madrid team in this competition (equal to four other failures by four goals difference).
Arsenal and Atletico hold a slightly flattering record: they are the teams with the most matches played in the history of the European Champions Cup / Champions League without ever winning the trophy (223 for the English, 190 for the Spanish respectively). However, Diego Simeone’s side have a strong case ahead of the first leg: Atletico have never lost at home (be it at the Vicente Calderón or the Riyadh Air Metropolitano) to an English side in the UCL knockout stages (3 wins, 3 draws). The six games were played against six different opponents: Chelsea, Leicester, Liverpool, Man. Utd, Man. City and Tottenham.
This is the 16th UCL semi-final between Spain and England. So far, the British have won 9 out of 15 times (60%), managing to qualify in four of the last five such duels (the only exception being the double between Manchester City and Real Madrid in the 2021-22 season).
The team led by Mikel Arteta is going through an excellent period, being unbeaten for 12 games in the UCL (10 wins, 2 draws). Arsenal are one game away from equaling the club’s longest unbeaten run in the competition: 13 games between March 2005 and April 2006, which saw them reach the final when they lost to Barcelona.
This season’s stats highlight different approaches. Arsenal provided close games in the knockout stages, averaging just 1.25 goals per game (4 goals scored, 1 conceded). On the other hand, Atlético’s games in the eighths and quarters were extremely spectacular, with an average of 4.7 goals per game (28 goals in total – 17 scored, 11 conceded).
Although they are recognized for their defensive style, being 9th in time spent on the defensive (20.4%) and in the last 10 teams in the offensive department, Atlético Madrid is a force in the pressing department. Madrid are 5th this season in high-intensity pressing, averaging 374 such actions per game (nearly 100 more than any other semi-finalist; Arsenal average 281).
