Arsenal fans were caught up in troubles before their Champions League first-leg as Atletico Madrid supporters clashed with police
Atletico Madrid fans clashed with Spanish police ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal. The local police were said to have used rubber bullets to quell the troubles but Gunners supporters were caught up in the troubles – some reportedly being teargassed.
Spanish outlet Marca published footage of the tensions outside the stadium, they reported that the local authorities charged at supporters. The video shows the riot police tactically lined up while chants can be heard, as well as bangs from, what appears to be a gun firing rubber bullets.
Smoke appears on the screen, with fans shielding their mouth, nose and eyes but the cause, whether it is from smoke bombs or tear gas is unknown. However, an eyewitness told The Mirror that police sprayed gas to disperse the crowd.
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The Premier League leaders travelled to the Spanish capital for their first leg against Diego Simeone’s side, with the showdown at the Wanda Metropolitano one of their best opportunities of reaching the elite European showpiece for the first time since 2006. It was said that there was a smell of tear gas around the Madrid stadium in the build-up to the encounter.
For the hosts, it was one of the biggest matches in their recent history as it was an opportunity for Atletico to salvage a poor season. They failed in earning silverware for an abject campaign, losing to Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey final, and as they sit fourth in La Liga, their pursuit of the Champions League was the chance to end on a positive.
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Ahead of the encounter, supporters lined up along the streets leading up to the stadium and gave the Atletico squad a hero’s welcome. Aerial footage shows thousands of fans cheering with plumes of red smoke in the air in a bid to give the hosts an advantage over Mikel Arteta’s side ahead of next week’s second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Police on horse back escorted the Atletico team bus into the Wanda Metropolitano. Speaking ahead of the showdown, Simeone spoke about how he was dreaming of guiding the Madrid giants back to the Champions League final.
He said: “It’s extraordinary that Atletico Madrid is in a Champions League semi-final again after nine years and after doing it for the fourth time in 14 years, if I’m not mistaken.
“That really is wonderful, it’s incredible, incredible. And I think that faith, that excitement, that contagiousness that our people transmit to us will do us a lot of good.
“We are going to face a tough game with a very good opponent and with a set-piece strategy as you well said at the beginning that is very well worked and well, here we go with all the excitement.
“I always say that dreaming is good but reality is what happens on earth. And what happens on earth is what we do and what God wants. So that’s how we behave.
“Honestly pressure no, there’s no pressure. There’s responsibility. There is the excitement of being close to a huge goal that the club has never achieved. And of course there is a special excitement.
“And we have to prepare well, we’re going to play the game we want to play, the game we imagine and as I always say, take the game where we want so we can hurt them. It will be a hard game but we believe we can stop them.
“They are a good team with good set-pieces. But I think football doesn’t owe anyone anything.
“Things are deserved and achieved and for that you have to work and seek them and obviously that lady luck also has to be behind you.”
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