Atletico Madrid survive Barcelona's early blitz to reach Champions League semifinals

MADRID: Diego Simeone's team held on after an early charge by Barcelona to make it back to the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in nearly a decade.

Atletico lost 2-1 but advanced 3-2 on aggregate after having won the first leg 2-0 in Barcelona last week. It will be the team's first last-four appearance in the European competition since 2017.

"To play in a Champions League semifinal, how nice, how nice..." said Simeone, who was visibly moved after the thrilling back-and-forth game.
"It's been 14 years and honestly, seeing the team still competing really moves me," Simeone said. "The players have changed, we've had to start over many times and yet here we are again among the top four in Europe."

Barcelona, trying to return to the last four for the second season in a row, scored twice in the first 24 minutes to even the series, with Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres finding the net.

Atletico struck back still in the first half with a goal by Ademola Lookman.
The Catalan club played a man down from the 79th minute after defender Eric Garcia was shown a red card for fouling Alexander Sorloth to stop a breakaway.

"We played a very good match, we gave our lives out there, we tried everything," Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong said. "Luck wasn't on our side this time. When you go a man down it's always harder."

Atletico will face either Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon in the semifinals. Arsenal won the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon last week. Their second leg in London is on Wednesday.

"Extremely happy to eliminate a Barcelona team that has a lot of quality," Atletico midfielder Koke said. "We struggled in the beginning but we found a way to recover. It was a great effort by the entire team."

The game in Madrid was stopped for several moments near the 70th minute because Atletico defender Matteo Ruggieri sustained a cut on his forehead after being elbowed by Barcelona midfielder Gavi during a dispute for the ball.

Yamal opened the scoring four minutes into the match at Metropolitano stadium, entering the area free from defenders after Atletico lost possession on a passing mistake by defender Clement Lenglet.

With his goal, Yamal became the top Champions League scorer under the age of 19 with 11, one more than Kylian Mbappe.

The visitors added to the lead on the night - evening the tie at 2-2 - in the 24th, with Torres picking up a through ball by Dani Olmo and finding the top corner by the far post.

Fermin Lopez nearly added the third a minute later but his close-range header was saved by Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso. The hosts struck back in the 31st with Lookman scoring from inside the area in a breakaway after a low cross by Marcos Llorente.

Barcelona thought it had equalized the series again, but Torres' 57th-minute goal was disallowed for offside.

\"We're disappointed. We had plenty of chances, especially in the first half. We had the chance to score a third goal, but instead we conceded," Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said.

"That's just how football is. We need to do better, but in the end, in terms of mentality and attitude, the team gave it their all. They did a fantastic job, but we just didn't come through."