Atletico Madrid reached the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday, overcoming a 2-1 second-leg defeat to Barcelona to win 3-2 on aggregate. The victory at the Metropolitano Stadium marks the first time Diego Simeone's side has reached the final four since 2017, according to aljazeera.com.
Barcelona took an early lead in the match through Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres within the first 24 minutes. The teenage winger capitalized on a mistake by Clement Lenglet in the fourth minute, sliding a low shot through the legs of goalkeeper Juan Musso to silence the home crowd.
Ferran Torres doubled the visitors' lead in the 24th minute, leveling the aggregate score. The outlet reported that Torres found space behind Lenglet to fire across Musso into the top corner.
Atletico responded in the 31st minute when Ademola Lookman converted a cross from Marcos Llorente. The strike gave the hosts the necessary cushion to maintain their aggregate advantage following their 2-0 win in the first leg.
Red card thwarts Barcelona comeback
Barcelona's pursuit of a third goal ended abruptly when Eric Garcia was sent off for bringing down Alexander Sorloth on a breakaway. The dismissal left Hansi Flick's side with 10 men during the closing stages of the match.
Despite substitutions involving Marcus Rashford and Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona could not find the equalizer. The match was marked by high tension, including an incident where Gavi elbowed Matteo Ruggeri, leaving the defender with blood streaming down his face.
“It was a rollercoaster with us going 2-0 down, and then it was a game of two halves, really,” Lookman told TNT Sports, as reported by aljazeera.com. “We stuck in there, and we got through to the semis.”
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong expressed frustration following the loss. “We played a very good match. We gave it our all. I have the feeling that luck wasn’t on our side,” de Jong told Movistar.
In the other Champions League quarterfinal, Paris Saint-Germain advanced to the semifinals with a 2-0 win over Liverpool. Ousmane Dembele scored twice at Anfield to secure a 4-0 aggregate victory for the French side, according to the report.
Atletico Madrid will now face either Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon in the next round of the competition.
