David Raya’s goalkeeping heroics ensured that Arsenal were only held to a goalless draw at Atalanta on Thursday in a tough start to their campaign in the revamped Champions League.
Mikel Arteta’s side left Bergamo with a point after a low-key performance in a red-hot atmosphere at the refurbished Gewiss Stadium.
The Premier League side would likely have been defeated had goalkeeper Raya not pulled off an astonishing double save to stop Mateo Retegui from netting first from the penalty spot and then on the rebound early in the second half.
“It’s just a penalty and I was lucky to go the right way and save it,” Raya told TNT Sports.
“I was unlucky to give the rebound straight back to him but I was quick enough to get up and save it.
“It’s fantastic to be able to keep the clean sheet and to help the team to get a point.”
Missing Martin Odegaard to a serious ankle injury suffered on international duty with Norway, Arsenal were largely solid but lacked imagination going forward and after having an early spell of dominance never looked like winning.
On Sunday, Arsenal head to league title rivals Manchester City, where they will need a brighter display than the one they put in on Thursday in northern Italy.
Europa League holders Atalanta had the better of a tight game which featured little goalmouth action and will be encouraged by their efforts in their first Champions League match since being dumped out at the group stage in 2021.
“We’re all with Mateo, he can’t think too much about that penalty miss,” said Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi to Sky in Italy.
“He’s a brilliant player and great guy, we’re very happy with a good point gained against a great team.”
Raya the hero
Arsenal were on top in the opening exchanges and only a fantastic double save from Carnesecchi stopped the away side from going ahead in the 13th minute.
The Italian kept out Bukayo Saka’s drilled free-kick with a fantastic fingertip save before quickly scurrying across to block Thomas Partey on the rebound.
Atalanta are used to dictating the rhythm of games, even at grounds like Anfield, but initially Arsenal pressed the hosts into making constant mistakes with the ball.
It took Atalanta nearly half an hour to get a proper sight of goal and Charles De Ketelaere smashed high and way wide when neatly set up by Retegui on the edge of the area.
But they grew into the game and two minutes after half-time had the perfect chance to take the lead when Ederson was clumsily brought down by Partey in the penalty area.
But Raya did brilliantly to guess the right way for Retegui’s penalty and then somehow managed to get across the goalline to claw the Italy forward’s rebound header off the line.
“Obviously we still had the whole second half to play but to go a goal ahead in that moment would have been huge,” said Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
“We can only be happy with our performance though, we put in a serious display against a really good team.”
They closest anyone came to scoring after Raya’s miraculous goalkeeping was when Atalanta substitute Juan Cuadrado fired two long-range rockets, first just over and then inches wide as both teams settled for a draw.
Atalanta’s fans, who made a ferocious racket all game, gave their team a warm round of applause and chanted Retegui’s name as their team showed that they were ready for the top table European football.
Last-gasp Gimenez strike sends Atletico past Leipzig
A 90th-minute goal from Jose Maria Gimenez snatched a 2-1 comeback victory for Atletico Madrid at home against RB Leipzig in their Champions League opener on Thursday.
Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko put the visitors in front just four minutes in but Antoine Griezmann levelled things up after 28 minutes.
In the final minute of regular time, the Frenchman chipped goalwards from the edge of the box and Gimenez rose high to head the ball back across goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi and into the goal.
“It’s amazing, to get a last-minute goal like this is always fantastic and it’s good to give the fans something to cheer about,” Atletico’s former Leipzig striker Alexander Sorloth told DAZN.
“We just keep on building, believe in ourselves and we put the pressure on Leipzig and won the game.”
Leipzig’s Christoph Baumgartner said: “We’re of course disappointed because there was something in it for us today. We could have taken at least a point back home from Madrid (but) Atletico were a goal better.”
Leipzig got off to an excellent start, Sesko putting the visitors in front early, just moments after being inches short of tapping in a David Raum cross.
The 21-year-old Slovenian found Lois Openda, whose shot was blocked by Jan Oblak but the ball fell back to Sesko, who headed in from close range.
Leipzig almost had a second shortly after when Sesko got onto a Xavi Simons free-kick, but the ball took a touch and dipped out into touch for a corner.
Buoyed on by a loud crowd in the Spanish capital, Atletico’s Angel Correa thought he had equalised midway through the first half but his header had not crossed the line.
Atletico drew level just two minutes later however, 2018 World Cup winner Griezmann hitting a controlled finish in from 12 yards out.
Leipzig had late chances to snatch the game, with Simons hitting over the bar after 72 minutes and Yussuf Poulsen heading wide just five minutes later.
The loss was Leipzig’s first defeat in any competition dating back to February, a run of 17 games.
Atletico had lost the only previous meeting between the two sides, going down 2-1 in a one-legged quarter-final in the 2019-20 competition.
Leipzig’s task in the Champions League will not get any easier, with the club’s next two home games in October coming against Juventus and Liverpool.
UEFA Champions League results on Thursday:
League stage, matchday one
Red Star Belgrade (SRB) 1 (Milson 86) Benfica (POR) 2 (Akturkoglu 9, Kokcu 29)
Feyenoord (NED) 0 Bayer Leverkusen (GER) 4 (Wirtz 5, 36, Grimaldo 30, Wellenreuther 44-og)
Atalanta (ITA) 0 Arsenal (ENG) 0
Atletico Madrid (ESP) 2 (Griezmann 28, Gimenez 90) RB Leipzig (GER) 1 (Sesko 4)
Monaco (FRA) 2 (Akliouche 16, Ilenikhena 71) Barcelona (ESP) 1 (Yamal 28)
Brest (FRA) 2 (Magnetti 23, Sima 56) Sturm Graz (AUT) 1 (Fernandes (45+1-og)
Played Wednesday
Bologna (ITA) 0 Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 0
Sparta Prague (CZE) 3 (Kairinen 2, Olatunji 42, Laci 58) Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) 0
Club Brugge (BEL) 0 Borussia Dortmund (GER) 3 (Gittens 76, 86, Guirassy 90+5)
Celtic (SCO) 5 (Scales 17, Furuhashi 47, Engels 56-pen, Maeda 70, Idah 87) Slovan Bratislava (SVK) 1 (Wimmer 61)
Manchester City (ENG) 0 Inter Milan (ITA) 0
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) 1 (Gazzaniga 90-og) Girona (ESP) 0
Played Tuesday
Juventus (ITA) 3 (Yildiz 21, McKennie 27, Gonzalez 52) PSV Eindhoven (NED) 1 (Saibari 90+3)
Young Boys (SUI) 0 Aston Villa (ENG) 3 (Tielemans 27, Ramsey 38, Onana 86)
Bayern Munich (GER) 9 (Kane 19-pen, 57, 73-pen, 78-pen, Guerreiro 33, Olise 38, 61, Sane 85, Goretzka 90+2) Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) 2 (Petkovic 48, Ogiwara 50)
AC Milan (ITA) 1 (Pulisic 3) Liverpool (ENG) 3 (Konate 23, Van Dijk 41, Szoboszlai 67)
Real Madrid (ESP) 3 (Mbappe 46, Ruediger 83, Endrick 90+5) Stuttgart (GER) 1 (Undav 68)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) 2 (Gyokeres 38, Debast 65) Lille (FRA) 0
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