Atletico Madrid complain to UEFA over disruption ahead of Arsenal semi-final: report

Atletico Madrid's players and staff may have had sleepless nights after their previous trip to the Emirates Stadium.

The Spanish side were thrashed 4-0 by Arsenal in the league phase of the Champions League back in October, with all four goals arriving in the space of 13 second-half minutes.

Atletico will hope they fare better when they return to the scene of that heavy defeat tonight in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final.

Atletico Madrid left furious over disruption ahead of Champions League semi-final

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Atleti arrived in London yesterday and trained at the Emirates ahead of a second leg that is finely poised following last week's 1-1 draw in Madrid.

Players and staff stayed at a different hotel last night to their previous visit in October, moving from Regent's Park to the Courthouse Hotel in Shoreditch, although manager Diego Simeone joked that this was down to cost rather than superstition.

However, the new accommodation was not without its problems, after fireworks were set off outside Atletico's base in the early hours of this morning.

According to Spanish outlet Marca, the first round of pyrotechnics were launched at around 1.30am before further fireworks were heard about 20 minutes later.

The noise is said to have disturbed "at least one member of the squad" and the club swiftly reported the incident to UEFA.

Atleti are reportedly frustrated that there was no deterrent in place for those attempting to cause disruption, with the hotel in a built-up area and on a busy road.

Simeone's side have had little joy on their trips to England this season, losing 3-2 to both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur as well as the 4-0 rout at Arsenal.

However, they have been boosted by the inclusion of top goalscorer Julian Alvarez, Giuliano Simeone, Marcos Llorente and David Hancko in their squad for tonight's second leg, after all four were injury doubts.

Atletico are aiming to reach a third Champions League final under Simeone, having been defeated by city rivals Real Madrid in 2014 and 2016.

They also lost to Bayern Munich in the final of the European Cup in 1974.