Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya secured his side a hard-earned point with a sensational penalty save in a 0-0 draw away to Atalanta in their Champions League opener on Thursday.
Spaniard Raya dived low to his right to beat out Mateo Retegui’s spot kick in the 51st minute then sprang across his goal to claw away the forward’s follow up header.
It was a gritty display by Mikel Arteta’s side who soaked up home pressure inside a raucous Stadio di Bergamo and occasionally looked dangerous at the other end.
The closest Arsenal came to scoring was a first-half free kick by Bukayo Saka that was saved well by Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, who also kept out Thomas Partey’s follow-up.
Gabriel Martinelli also blasted over the crossbar in a rare Arsenal attack after the break.
Arsenal, without injured skipper Martin Odegaard, were not at their best but made sure they returned to London with a point in the bag thanks to the exploits of Raya who is now established as the club’s first-choice keeper.
Atalanta were handed the chance to go ahead when Partey tangled with Ederson on the edge of the area and the referee Clement Turpin pointed to the spot.
After a lengthy VAR check, during which Raya went over to the bench to talk to goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana, Retegui eventually took the kick but his low shot was read by Raya who then showed elastic-like agility to make the double-save.
“It was a very difficult game but I think we also made it difficult for them, Raya said.
“A point away from home in the first Champions League game, we could have played a bit better but if you can’t win the game then don’t lose it.”
Of his penalty save, he added: “I was lucky to go the right way and unlucky that the rebound fell to him, but I was quick enough to get up and save it. Fantastic to keep a clean sheet.”
It was the first ever clash between the sides with Atalanta having qualified for the competition by finishing fourth in Serie A last season, while they also won the Europa League.
While Atalanta will be frustrated at not beginning with a notable victory, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side showed that they will be a tough nut to crack in the group phase.
They had marginally the better of a dull game with Charles De Ketelaere driving an effort just wide in the first half and substitute Juan Cuadrado just off target late on.
“I admire Arsenal a great deal and tonight they didn’t do a lot in attack, but confirmed they are solid and difficult to break down,” Gasperini said.
“We will emerge stronger from this game, we learned a lot.”
Arsenal face Paris St Germain at home in their second game but now all eyes are on Sunday’s clash at Premier League champions Manchester City.
“We are all digging in for each other and that will be needed at The Etihad on Sunday,” midfielder Declan Rice said.
“We want to go there to win, it’s crucial for our season.”
Barcelona made a disappointing start to their Champions League campaign by losing 2-1 to AS Monaco on Thursday after suffering an early blow from defender Eric Garcia’s dismissal.
Barcelona had a dreadful start at the Stade Louis II stadium when Garcia was shown a straight red card 11 minutes in for a foul on Monaco’s Takumi Minamino, who was clear in front of goal after a misplaced pass from goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
“We didn’t understand each other in that moment, I feel bad for Eric,” Ter Stegen told Movistar Plus.
“We played 80 minutes with one less. It’s a football thing. The defeat hurts, because with 10 men on the pitch we gave our all and tried to get a point.”
The hosts grabbed the lead five minutes later when Maghnes Akliouche struck a low shot into the net, before Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal equalised in the 28th minute by finishing from the edge of the penalty area.
It was the first Champions League goal for Yamal who became the second youngest scorer (17-years-old, 68 days) in the competition behind teammate Ansu Fati in 2019 (17-years-old, 40 days).
Monaco kept pushing and got their reward in the 71st minute when substitute George Ilenikhena fired past Ter Stegen to secure victory in their first main stage appearance in five years in Europe’s elite club competition.
“The game changed completely (with the red card),” Barcelona manager Hansi Flick said.
“We tried all the time, we defended with passion. We made some mistakes, but we tried to score goals. We had a few chances, but they deserved to win.
“Now we have to come back stronger, recover for Sunday’s game (at Villarreal in LaLiga). We have to give our best and fight for the team,” the German coach added.
Thursday’s Champions League results
- Crvena zvezda (0) 1 Benfica (2) 2
- Feyenoord (0) 0 Bayer Leverkusen (4) 4
- Atalanta (0) 0 Arsenal (0) 0
- Atlético Madrid (1) 2 RB Leipzig (1) 1 Brest (1) 2
- Sturm Graz (1) 1 Monaco (1) 2 Barcelona (1) 1
