Costa helps Atletico sink Arsenal

Wenger’s hopes of bidding goodbye to Gunners with trophy ended with 0-1 defeat in Europa semis

Arsenal's hopes of winning one last trophy under Arsene Wenger ended at the hands of Diego Costa and Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid on Thursday.

Costa scored the only goal late in the first half to give Atletico a 1-0 second-leg victory over Arsenal in the Europa League semifinals, advancing 2-1 on aggregate to its fifth European final in nine seasons.

The result also meant Arsenal will not qualify for the Champions League for a second straight season.

"I'm very disappointed," Wenger said. "I'm frustrated as well because when you go out of the competition like we did, it's very difficult to take. I'm very, very sad to leave the club with this exit."

Wenger, in his 250th UEFA game as a club coach, announced two weeks ago he was standing down after nearly 22 years with the London team.

Atletico will meet Marseille in the final in Lyon on May 16 after the French team lost 2-1 to Salzburg following extra-time in Austria but went through 3-2 on aggregate.

Amadou Haidara and an own goal from Bouna Sarr put Salzburg 2-0 up on the night before Portuguese substitute Rolando struck in the 116th minute to send Marseille through.

Simeone's Atletico is already certain of a Champions League place next season because it is second in the Spanish League.

Atletico was demoted to the Europa League after failing to get past the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in five seasons.

"It was important to make it to the final," Costa said. "Atletico needed it, we are a great team."

Atletico will be playing its fourth European final under Simeone. It lost twice to city rival Real Madrid in the Champions League in 2014 and 2016 but won the Europa League in 2010 and 2012, the last time soon after Simeone had taken over.

"It's not easy to do what we're doing," Atletico midfielder Saul Niguez said. "We want to add the cherry on the cake at the end of the season."

Arsenal is sixth in the Premier League and needed to win the Europa League to qualify for Europe's leading club competition.

"We wanted to do it for the boss, he's had an amazing career," Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin said. "We wanted to try our best to finish at the top and that adds a little bit more disappointment for us."

Costa, the scourge of Arsenal several times during his three seasons with Chelsea, picked up a perfect pass by Antoine Griezmann and strode into the area before fending off a defender and lifting the ball over goalkeeper David Ospina.

Arsenal tried to rally but struggled to break through Atletico's stout defense, creating few scoring opportunities.

The hosts continued to threaten with Costa and Griezmann up front and had a few good chances to make it 2-0.

Both teams started cautiously at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, with Arsenal trying to control possession and Atletico playing typically tight at the back.

Arsenal lost captain Laurent Koscielny with a suspected Achilles injury less than 10 minutes into the match, putting in doubt his World Cup participation with France next month.

"It looks like an Achilles rupture," Wenger said. "But we have to be cautious. We will know more after a scan."

It was Atletico's 32nd game with a clean sheet in all competitions this season, the most of any team in the top five European leagues.

Atletico didn't have Simeone on the bench on Thursday because he was sent off in the first leg.

"History is made in these kind of games," said Simeone, who watched from the stands. "Tonight I felt the atmosphere in this stadium like a fan. They were with us every step of the way, they knew the side needed them."

Marseille ADVANCES

Marseille advanced to its first European final in 14 years after a goal late in extra-time gave it a 3-2 aggregate win over Salzburg in the semifinals of the Europa League on Thursday.

Five minutes after coming on as a substitute, Portuguese defender Rolando volleyed in a corner from captain Dimitri Payet in the 116th minute.

Amadou Haidara, after a solo run, and an own goal from Bouna Sarr had given Salzburg a 2-0 lead in 90 minutes to make up for the 2-0 defeat from the first leg in France a week ago.

Marseille will meet Atletico Madrid in the final in Lyon on May 16 after the Spanish side beat Arsenal 1-0 with a goal from Diego Costa to win 2-1 on aggregate.

"It was a completely crazy match. Thanks to our character we managed to score that goal," said Payet, adding that Marseille would enter the final as "outsiders."

The French club will be aiming for its second European trophy after winning the Champions League 25 years ago. It has not appeared in a final since losing to Valencia in the UEFA Cup in 2004.

"It's been a long season and our character has always been our strength," defender Adil Rami said. "It will be a great match against Atletico. We want to win that final."

The late goal denied Salzburg a chance to become the first Austrian club to reach a European final since Rapid Vienna was beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in the 1996 Cup Winners' Cup.

"We are very disappointed. We had a great Europa League season but forgot to give ourselves the reward for that," Salzburg coach Marco Rose said.

Marseille had few problems in a first half that lacked clear scoring opportunities.

The French side went close in the sixth minute when Rami just failed to meet Payet's curling free kick.

Payet guided Marseille to victory a week ago, setting up both goals, and again he orchestrated most of the team's attacks.

Salzburg dominated possession after the opening 10 minutes but created little danger. Its fast-paced combinations often lacked precision while Marseille defended well.

The home team's only shot on target came after 13 minutes when striker Munas Dabbur tested goalkeeper Yohann Pele with a low strike from just outside the penalty area.

Salzburg stepped up a gear in the second half. Soon after Valere Germain's volley from another Payet cross went  wide, Haidara picked up a pass by Stefan Lainer and dribbled past four defenders before beating Pele with the outside of his right foot.

It set off a 15-minute period of frenetic play from the home team and Salzburg drew level on aggregate in the 65th minute.

Rami tried to clear a cross by Haidara but sent the ball straight to Xaver Schlager. The midfielder's effort looked like going wide but it was deflected by Sarr and left Pele stranded.

Marseille bounced back strongly in the last 15 minutes of normal time with Payet finding Florian Thauvin, but his header landed on top of the crossbar.

Salzburg had an escape in the closing minutes when referee Sergei Karasev denied Marseille a penalty although TV replays suggested defender Duje Caleta-Car had handled.

Both teams missed a handful of clear-cut chances in extra-time, most notably Caleta-Car, who had a well-placed header saved by Pele's spectacular dive minutes before Rolando struck. Also, Haidara was sent off with a second booking after pushing his elbow in Payet's face.

"I think we were the better team and had our chances," Schlager said.