Atletico Madrid has reached the Champions League semifinals for the first time since the 2016/2017 season, following a thrilling 3-2 aggregate victory over Barcelona. Diego Simeone's team took a 2-0 lead into the second leg at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano but saw their advantage wiped out within 25 minutes as Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres scored for Barcelona. However, Atletico regained their composure and restored their aggregate lead through a sweeping move finished off by Ademola Lookman.
The introduction of Marcus Rashford and Robert Lewandowski failed to spark a Barcelona comeback, and Eric Garcia's red card with 11 minutes remaining sealed the win for Atletico. They will now face the winner of the tie between Arsenal and Sporting in the semifinals, with the first leg scheduled for April 28 or 29 and the second leg on May 5 or 6. Yamal had earlier become the youngest player to record 20 goal involvements in Champions League history at 18 years and 275 days old. Atletico's victory was built on solid game management, with the team sitting deep and looking to hit Barcelona on the counter-attack.
The semifinal tie promises to be an exciting encounter, with Atletico looking to continue their impressive run in the competition.