Diego Costa stamps Atletico's ticket to Europa League final
Atletico Madrid 1-0 Arsenal: Former Chelsea striker got the better of his old foes once again
Diego Costa saved the best game of his second Atletico Madrid career for his old friends Arsenal. The former Chelsea striker took his tally to four in seven games against the Gunners as he helped put his team in the Europa League final in Lyon.
ATL
1 ________________ 0
ARS
LINE UP
Atlético
Oblak; Thomas (Savic 92'), Giménez, Godín, Lucas; Saúl, Gabi, Koke, Vitolo (Correa, 74'); Griezmann y Diego Costa (Fernando Torres 83').
Arsenal
Ospina; Bellerín, Mustafi, Koscielny (Chambers 11'), Monreal; Xhaka, Ramsey, Wilshere (Mkhitaryan 69'); Özil, Welbeck y Lacazette.
Gol
1-0 M. 45+ Diego Costa.
Árbitro
Gialucca Rocchi. TA: Wilshere (42'), Monreal (59'), Mustafi (78'), Saúl (70') y Costa (78').
Campo
Metropolitano. 66.000 espectadores.
Truth be told, it wasn't even Costa's gola that dumped Arsenal out. It was Antoine Griezmann's netted at the Emirates to earn Atletico a vital 1-1 away draw in the first leg.
Given Atletico have now not conceded for 12 games running at home, this was always going to be Mission Impossible for Arsenal.
Arsene Wenger took charge of his 250th European match and it ended in the same way all the other important ones have, in misery.
They looked good, in charge of the game, until you later realise that despite pushing Atletico back and firing the ball into the area a whole bunch of times, they weren't creating good chances.
Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez are too savvy, too cruel to allow teams opportunities at the Wanda Metropolitano, growing into a home just as important as the Vicente Calderon was.
An early injury for Laurent Koscielny was a blow for Arsenal - and for him, with the Frenchman now set to miss the World Cup it seems - and Costa took advantage.
The Spain forward netted the opening goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half, slipping the ball home after Antoine Griezmann played him in, behind the snoozing Hector Bellerin.
And as anyone who has every watched or even heard of Atletico Madrid will know, the game was over.
Granit Xhaka forced Jan Oblak into his only important save of the night, but even that was an effort from outside the box, a low strike that the Slovenian goalkeeper has repelled many times before, and will repel many times again.
So the dream is over for Wenger, who will no longer get the goodbye he desires with a trophy, and Arsenal will not be in the Champions League next season. Atletico? They go looking for their third Europa League and few would bet against them picking it up in Lyon.
