Atletico Madrid secured a place in the Champions League semifinals with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Barcelona, despite losing the quarterfinal second leg 2-1. Barcelona, trailing 2-0 from the first leg, took an early lead through goals by Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres within 24 minutes, but Ademola Lookman's strike in the 31st minute restored Atletico's advantage on aggregate in a gripping all-Spanish clash.

Diego Simeone's side reached the semifinals for the first time since 2017 by holding off the La Liga champions in a compelling and bloody battle. Barcelona ended the match with 10 men after Eric Garcia was sent off in the 80th minute for fouling Alexander Sorloth, hampering their chance to score a third goal and force extra time. The match was marked by contentious decisions, including denied penalty appeals from Barcelona.

Atletico, who have never won the competition and lost the 2014 and 2016 finals under Simeone, will now face Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon in the semifinals. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick benched forwards Marcus Rashford and Robert Lewandowski in favor of a high-pressing strategy, but it ultimately proved insufficient. Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona remarked, "We played a very good match. We gave it our all. I have the feeling that luck wasn't on our side." Lookman added, "It was a rollercoaster with us going 2-0 down and then it was a game of two halves really. We stuck in there and we got through to the semis."

In Tuesday's other Champions League quarterfinal, Paris Saint-Germain confirmed their semifinal spot with a 2-0 win over Liverpool, sealing a 4-0 aggregate victory at a rain-soaked Anfield. Ousmane Dembele scored twice, and PSG will meet either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the next round.

Source: www.aljazeera.com