{"id":6206,"date":"2026-04-30T09:32:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/?p=6206"},"modified":"2026-04-30T11:14:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T11:14:34","slug":"marcos-llorente-and-antoine-griezmann-react-to-atletico-arsenal-draw-another-war-next-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/marcos-llorente-and-antoine-griezmann-react-to-atletico-arsenal-draw-another-war-next-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann react to Atletico-Arsenal draw \u2013 \u2018Another war next week\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Atletico Madrid\u2019s players seemed pleased with their performance after their 1-1 draw against Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Metropolitano. There was a slight regret that they were unable to take a lead to London next week, but there was a satisfaction with the reaction to going a goal down.<\/p>\n

Julian Alvarez grabbed the equaliser from the penalty spot, but it was strike partner Antoine Griezmann who was named man of th match. He was positive abou<\/p>\n

My biggest dream is to reach the final. I\u2019ve prepared a lot for this match and the second leg, and hopefully we can achieve it,\u201d he told Movistar+, as quoted by Marca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur second half was much better in terms of intensity and pressing. That\u2019s the way to go in the second leg. It\u2019s going to be a great match to play. Whether it\u2019s at home or at the stadium, it\u2019ll be a tough one to watch, but that\u2019s the beauty of football. Conceding at the end of the first half hurts. We made two or three tactical adjustments to press better and shift our position, and that made the difference. Then our fans pushed us on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI had three chances, but I couldn\u2019t get them in the net, but I\u2019ll definitely get them in the second leg. We all did a great job and we have to focus on the second half, he noted, highly motivated to make his mark.<\/p>\n

Marcos Llorente: \u2018Whoever is more efficient will win\u2019<\/h2>\n

Griezmann lamented his lack of effectiveness in front of goal, and it was something that Marcos Llorente remarked on too.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s still up for grabs in the second leg. They took the first half and we took the second. That\u2019s what we have to take away from this. We\u2019ve made things very difficult for them,\u201d he told MD<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t take your chances, you end up paying the price. The second half is the path we need to follow. We have to take more risks, going man-to-man and pressing high up the pitch. We need to be more precise in the final third, because that\u2019s what makes the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Spain international felt that the side that is most effective will be victorious next week.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Next week will be] a another war. We are two teams with very clear ideas and who know their strengths. Whoever is more efficient will win the match.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnny Cardoso: \u2018We need the intensity of the second half\u2019<\/h2>\n

Later on in the match, Llorente replaced Johnny Cardoso in midfield,\u00a0 who felt that there was little difference between the two teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see anyone as favourites. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves and we know we can go out there, play a great game, and qualify,\u201d he explained to MD<\/a> in the mix zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, you\u2019re playing at home, and ideally, you dream of leaving with a more comfortable result. We know it\u2019s a Champions League semi-final, and games are decided by small details. In the first half, we had chances, but we weren\u2019t very clinical in front of goal. However, the second half was much better, with much more intensity and we created more chances, and we could have achieved a positive result.\u201d<\/p>\n

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USMNT\u2019s Johnny Cardoso joins @GuillemBalague<\/a> to break down the penalty appeals vs Arsenal and look ahead to the second leg \"\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\"\"\ud83d\udc47\" pic.twitter.com\/mbjOJ1Pvhf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CBS Sports Golazo \"\u26bd\" (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Cardoso was unwilling to give much away to CBS Sports about the penalty decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I didn\u2019t see it after the game, so I can\u2019t give a conclusion, but our penalty is a clear handball.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to go out with the same intensity we had in the second half, win the duels, be ourselves, enjoy the moment. We know it will be a tough game, with intensity, and we must be ready for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jan Oblak: \u2018The power beat me on the penalty\u2019<\/h3>\n

Veteran goalkeeper Jan Oblak also spoke to TNT Sports, and agreed that the referee was right not to give a second penalty to Arsenal after a VAR review.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntense game from both teams, we were looking for three points, them as well. I think we did a pretty good game, but 1-1 two penalties, all to play for in London. Everything is open. Always when they don\u2019t give penalties, it\u2019s better. Hopefully if they have it, I would stop it. Because I didn\u2019t stop the first one. But the referee checked it, and we agree with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cEverything\u2019s open.\u201d \"\ud83d\udd25\"<\/p>\n

Jan Oblak reacts after tonight\u2019s draw with Arsenal.<\/p>\n

Watch live on TNT Sports and HBO Max pic.twitter.com\/7D3is1wwRs<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The giant Slovenian seemed to get across to Viktor Gyokeres penalty, but could not place his hands in time to stop it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I think so [the power beat him]. I was close, I was on the right side. But he shot with maximum power. Unlucky. I am angry about it, but it\u2019s in the past now, and we need to focus first on the league this weekend, and then on the second leg in London.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was the second meeting between the two sides, who met in the league phase at the Emirates. That game finished 4-0 to the Gunners, but Oblak was paying little attention to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we will not think about this game. We lost 4-0 against a great team like Arsenal, but I hope and I think it will be a different game. We will do everything possible in order to reach the final.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHonestly, we\u2019re are not thinking about [winning] it. First we need to do the work on the pitch, and we still have the second leg. It\u2019s the same as Arsenal, they want to win the Champions League, but if we want to win it, we have to get through first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We need the perfect game to get through\u2019<\/h3>\n

Later speaking to Spanish media in the mix zone, Oblak said his side would need the perfect game to beat Arsenal next week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all have to play a perfect game on Tuesday if we want to reach the final. In the end, we went for the win, we wanted to win, but we didn\u2019t manage it. We didn\u2019t give Arsenal any space and they didn\u2019t have any chances, while we did. We leave with a good feeling. It\u2019s a shame we didn\u2019t win, but everything is still to play for in the second leg and we have to be even better then,\u201d he told MD<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not ideal that we didn\u2019t win, but everything is still open. Sometimes, when you go into a game with an advantage, it can be complicated. The important thing is that the team has made a good impression.\u201d<\/p>\n

The return leg comes next Tuesday at the Emirates at 21:00 CEST. Diego Simeone was also satisfied with his side\u2019s reaction<\/a> in the second half, while Mikel Arteta was frustrated with the decision to remove the second penalty<\/a>, feeling that it \u2018changed the tie\u2019.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The post Marcos Llorente and Antoine Griezmann react to Atletico-Arsenal draw – ‘Another war next week’<\/a> appeared first on Football Espa\u00f1a<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Atletico Madrid\u2019s players seemed pleased with their performance after their 1-1 draw against Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6206"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6206"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6207,"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6206\/revisions\/6207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/piquant-burotic.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}