Atletico Madrid held off a spirited Barcelona comeback to reach the Champions League semi-finals, advancing 3-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 defeat in a gripping second-leg clash in Madrid.
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, Barcelona struck early as Lamine Yamal capitalized on a loose touch from Clement Lenglet to slot past Juan Musso just five minutes in. Ferran Torres then brought the tie level on aggregate with a superb left-footed finish from a Dani Olmo assist 19 minutes later.
The home crowd was briefly stunned before Marcos Llorente surged down the right and set up Ademola Lookman to restore Atletico’s aggregate advantage.
Barcelona had earlier missed a golden chance to extend their lead, with Musso denying Fermin Lopez’s close-range header.
Torres believed he had added a third after the break with a fine volley, but VAR ruled it out for offside.
Barcelona kept pushing, but their task became harder when Eric Garcia was sent off for a foul on Alexander Sorloth.
Despite late pressure, including headers from Robert Lewandowski and Ronald Araujo, Barcelona could not complete the comeback. Atletico now advance to face either Arsenal or Sporting CP in the semi-finals as they chase their first final appearance since 2016.
