Atletico Madrid survived a valiant Barcelona fightback to progress to the Champions League semi-finals 3-2 on aggregate despite losing a thrilling quarter-final second leg 2-1 in Madrid.
With Barca trailing 2-0 from the first leg, Lamine Yamal halved the aggregate deficit with just five minutes on the clock when he slid the ball under Atleti goalkeeper Juan Musso following a loose touch from former Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet.
Nineteen minutes later the tie was level – Ferran Torres latched onto a Dani Olmo pass and drilled a fine left-footed strike into the top corner.
A raucous home crowd was silenced for seven minutes, until Marcos Llorente broke down the right flank and found Ademola Lookman in the box to restore Atleti’s aggregate lead.
Barca should have gone 3-0 up on the night just five minutes earlier, but Musso spread himself to block a diving header from an unmarked Fermin Lopez.
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Torres thought he had scored Barca’s third goal 10 minutes into the second half when he met a deflection in the box with a cushioned volley into the top corner, but after a VAR check his effort was ruled out for offside.
The visitors continued to push but, as happened in the first leg last week, were reduced to 10 men when Eric Garcia tripped Atleti striker Alexander Sorloth as he raced onto a through ball.
Barcelona threw everyone forward and went close through headers from Robert Lewandowski and Ronald Araujo, but were unable to produce what would have been one of the most memorable comebacks in Champions League history.
Atleti will face either Arsenal or Sporting CP in the semi-finals as they look to reach the final for the first time since 2016.
“It’s been 14 years now. Seeing the team still competing excites me,” said Atletico boss Diego Simeone. “The players have changed, we’ve started over countless times, and we’re back among the top four in Europe.
“Playing in a Champions League semi-final, how wonderful. We’ll go there with all our enthusiasm and faith. We know our strengths and weaknesses. We’re ready.
“We’ll go there to find what we’ve been searching for for so many years.”
BBC
