Atletico Madrid has reached the Champions League semifinals for the first time since the 2016/2017 season, following a nail-biting 3-2 aggregate victory over Barcelona. Diego Simeone's team took a 2-0 lead into the second leg, held at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, but their advantage was short-lived as Barcelona spectacularly equalized within 25 minutes, thanks to goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres.
However, Atletico regained their composure and restored their aggregate lead when Ademola Lookman scored after a well-executed counterattack. Despite the introduction of Marcus Rashford and Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona failed to mount a significant challenge in the second half. The final nail in the coffin came when Eric Garcia was sent off for a last-man foul, leaving Barcelona with little hope of a comeback.
Atletico Madrid 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 stated that his team should not view a comeback as a miracle, and he led by example, forcing the goalkeeper into action within seconds of the kickoff and scoring the opener shortly after. The 18-year-old became the youngest player to achieve 20 goal involvements in Champions League history.
Torres soon leveled the tie, but Atletico reestablished their aggregate lead when Lookman scored. Barcelona thought they had equalized again, but Torres's effort was ruled offside. The introduction of Rashford and Lewandowski failed to yield the expected results, and Garcia's red card all but sealed Barcelona's fate. In the end, Ronald Araujo headed over the bar in stoppage time, ending Barcelona's hopes of a second consecutive Champions League semifinal appearance.
According to Kris Boyd, Atletico's game management was key to their success, as they controlled the game and exploited Barcelona's high line on the counterattack. Atletico Madrid's Koke expressed his team's delight at eliminating a top-level team like Barcelona, while Frenkie De Jong felt that luck was not on Barcelona's side, despite their impressive performance.