April 15, (THEWILL) — Atletico Madrid are through to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals after holding off a spirited Barcelona challenge at the Metropolitano on Tuesday, advancing 3-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 defeat on the night.
Barcelona arrived needing to wipe out a two-goal first-leg deficit. Lamine Yamal threatened from the first minute and soon made it count, slotting past Juan Musso after latching on to a Ferran Torres pass. Torres then turned scorer in the 24th minute, striking powerfully to level the tie on aggregate.
Fermin Lopez went close to putting Barcelona ahead overall, but his header was kept out by the advancing Musso, who took an accidental boot to the face in the process. Atletico responded through Marcos Llorente, who drove along the right and squared for Ademola Lookman. The Nigerian forward drilled home first time to restore Atletico’s aggregate lead.
Barcelona thought they had drawn level again early in the second half when Torres beat Musso, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Their hopes were further dented in the 79th minute when Eric Garcia was shown a red card after a VAR review, having pulled down substitute Alexander Sorloth to deny a clear chance.
Ronald Araujo then spurned a golden late opportunity, heading over from six yards with the goal at his mercy. Atletico held on to book their place in the last four, with Lookman’s clinical finish proving decisive across both legs.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
