Atletico Madrid survived a spirited comeback from FC Barcelona to book their place in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate victory.
Despite losing 2-1 in the second leg in Madrid, Atletico did enough to progress, having secured a crucial advantage in the first leg.
Barcelona, trailing 2-0 on aggregate, made a fast start. Lamine Yamal opened the scoring inside five minutes after capitalising on a loose touch from Clement Lenglet, finishing calmly past goalkeeper Juan Musso.
The visitors levelled the tie in the 24th minute when Ferran Torres converted a precise pass from Dani Olmo with a powerful strike into the top corner.
However, Atletico responded swiftly as Marcos Llorente broke down the right flank and set up Ademola Lookman, who restored the hosts’ aggregate lead.
Barcelona thought they had taken full control when Torres found the net again early in the second half, but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
The Catalan side’s hopes suffered a major setback when Eric Garcia was sent off for bringing down Alexander Sorloth as he raced through on goal.
Despite late pressure, including chances for Robert Lewandowski and Ronald Araujo, Barcelona were unable to complete the comeback.
Atletico Madrid now advance to the semi-finals, keeping their hopes alive for European glory.
