Atletico Madrid reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2016/17 after a 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona.
Diego Simeone’s men took a 2-0 lead into the second leg at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, but their advantage was spectacularly wiped out within 25 minutes after goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres.
A sweeping move was then finished off by Ademola Lookman as Atletico kept their nerve to restore their aggregate advantage and there was little bite from Barca in the second half, despite the introduction of both Marcus Rashford and Robert Lewandowski.
Any final hopes of a comeback were extinguished with 11 minutes of the 90 to play, when Eric Garcia was sent off for bringing down Alexander Sorloth as the last man, with the striker bearing down on goal.
Atletico will face the winner of the tie between Arsenal and Sporting in the semi-finals. The first leg will take place on April 28 or 29, with the second leg on May 5 or 6.
How Atletico reached their first Champions League semi-final in nine years
Speaking in a press conference on Monday, Yamal had insisted he and his Barcelona team-mates “must not think of a comeback as a miracle” – and his own efforts soon proved that statement right.
Lamine Yamal put Barcelona ahead on the night
Within seconds of the first whistle, he had forced goalkeeper Juan Musso to tip his effort around the left-hand post – and inside four minutes, he had scored the opener, pouncing on a Torres pass to slide home.
That made him the youngest player to record 20 goal involvements in Champions League history at 18 years and 275 days old.
Before long, the LaLiga leaders had levelled the tie. Torres took one touch to bring Dani Olmo’s pass under control, a second to create space and a third to emphatically beat Musso from a tight angle.
Ferran Torres made it 2-2 on aggregate
But Atletico soon reminded them their lead on the night was just that and nothing more. They re-established the aggregate lead in the tie when Marcos Llorente capped off a sweeping counter by delivering an inch-perfect cross for Lookman to sweep in.
Shortly before the hour, Barca thought they had restored parity once more when Gavi’s effort was blocked by Clement Lenglet, but looped into the air for Torres to volley into the top corner. He had, however, strayed offside.
Ademola Lookman restored Atletico’s aggregate lead
Rashford and Lewandowski were introduced, but the expected onslaught did not come. Barcelona had nothing to lose and everything to gain, even after Garcia was sent off after referee Clement Turpin had gone to the monitor.
They did get one last chance to force extra time deep into stoppage time, but Ronald Araujo headed over the bar, taking Barca’s hopes of a second straight Champions League semi-final with it.
‘Arsenal will still fancy their chances against Atletico if they beat Sporting’
Kris Boyd speaking on Soccer Special:
“It was about game management for Atletico. We’ve seen Diego Simeone’s teams in the past sit in, be horrible to play against and I don’t think he’s afraid to try and kick you off the pitch – that wasn’t the case tonight.
“It was a performance where you felt as if they were in control of the game and could hit Barcelona on the counter-attack.
“Barcelona’s line is so high and, if you time your runs, you can in against them nearly every time.
“Arsenal would probably have been thinking they were going to play Barcelona in the semis. If they can get past Sporting tomorrow, which you would expect them to do, I expect they will fancy their chances of going through.”
Koke: Atletico deserved to win the tie
Atletico Madrid’s Koke speaking to Movistar Plus+:
“We’re absolutely thrilled, eliminating a team of Barca’s level. We struggled at the beginning, but the team overcame it. The effort was enormous and we are deserved winners of the tie.
“I told my team-mates we had to keep going. It’s football, we’re playing at home, the tie was level and we had to attack. We were able to score and even had a few more chances.
“Musso had an excellent game, as did Llorente, Julian, Griezmann. That’s what we need – to score from anywhere on the field to stay in contention in all competitions.”
De Jong: Luck wasn’t on our side
Atletico Madrid’s Alexander Sorloth, top, and Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong challenge for the ball
Barcelona’s Frenkie De Jong speaking to UEFA:
“We played a very good match. We gave it our all. I have the feeling that luck wasn’t on our side.
“I think we’re growing and that we have a young, talented team that can compete for everything. We’re going to keep going like this.
“It’s never good to be knocked out in the quarter-finals. We want to win it. That doesn’t mean we’re not playing well or that we’re not on the right track. In the Champions League, it comes down to the little things and you need a bit of luck. If we keep playing like this, luck has to go our way at some point.”
