After Arsenal took the lead through Bukayo Saka, Atlético had to take more risks in the second half to keep their hopes of reaching the final alive. Los Rojiblancos needed a goal to force extra time.
After a long ball, Giuliano Simeone had a huge chance to equalize. Saliba misjudged the flight of the ball, and his headed backpass was intercepted by the Atlético attacker before it could even reach the keeper. Simeone cleverly knocks the ball past him and looks set to slot it home.
However, he is heavily pressured by the recovering Gabriel and stumbles as a result. The replay clearly shows the Brazilian putting a hand on the attacker’s shoulder and knocking him off balance.
📸 Shaun Botterill – 2026 Getty Images
📸 Shaun Botterill – 2026 Getty Images
📸 ADRIAN DENNIS – AFP or licensors
Simeone stays on his feet, though, and still tries to put the ball into the unguarded net. The question is: would German referee Daniel Siebert have pointed to the spot if the Argentine had gone down? Was he disadvantaged by trying to play on in a sporting manner? At the very least, a VAR review also resulted in no intervention and no change to the decision.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
