Atletico Madrid survived a scare from Barcelona to reach the semi finals of the Uefa Champions League.
A comeback from Hansi Flick’s Barcelona was successfully doused by Atletico Madrid as the Mattress Makers reached the last four of the Uefa Champions League 2025/26 despite losing 2-1 in the quarter finals second leg on Tuesday 14 April, 2026 at Metropolitano in Madrid City.
This means Diego Simeone’s side scaled through to the next phase of the tournament with a 3-2 aggregate triumph.
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, Barcelona took the lead to halve the deficit after Ferran Torres provided for Lamine Yamal early in the showdown, in the 5th minute; Yamal slid the ball past Juan Musso, Atletico goalkeeper, after a feeble touch from Clement Lenglet.
Determined to clinch victory, in the 24th minute F. Torres made it two for the Catalans with an assist from Dani Olmo; Torres fired a stunning strike with his left foot into the top corner.
But, the celebration from the visitors did not last long as Atletico Madrid fought back and found one through Nigerian forward, Ademola Lookman, who was assisted by Marcos Llorente.
The Super Eagles star’s goal restored Atletico Madrid’s aggregate lead.
Barcelona should have been 3-0 in front, however, a diving header from Fermin Lopez was stopped by Russo after the goalie disseminated himself to block the effort.
Ten (10) minutes into the second 45 minutes, Torres netted the third for Barcelona when he responded to a deflection in the box with a volley into the top corner, however, his goal was cancelled by Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after a check for offside.
The visitors really mounted some pressure on their hosts, but, just as it happened at Camp Nou, they were reduced to ten men after Eric Garcia was shown a straight red card after a foul on Atletico striker Alexander Sorloth, who charged towards the ball after a through pass.
Everyone from the Catalans pushed forward in a quest to record one of the memorable fightbacks in the history of the Uefa Champions League, but, were unable to produce.
Who will Atletico Madrid face next?
Atletico Madrid will now prepare to slug it out with the winner between Arsenal and Sporting CP, who play on Wednesday night.
Arsenal, who are 1-0 in front from the first leg in Lisbon, Portugal, will welcome Sporting CP at Emirates Stadium for the second leg on Wednesday 15 April, 2026 at 20:00 (WAT).
Atletico Madrid will be looking to reach the final of the Uefa Champions League for the first time since 2016.
Diego Simeone’s post-victory comments:
In his comments after his side scaled through fellow La Liga side, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid manager, Diego Simeone, said: “It’s been 14 years now. Seeing the team still competing excites me.
“The players have changed, we’ve started over countless times, and we’re back among the top four in Europe.
“Playing in a Champions League semi-final, how wonderful. We’ll go there with all our enthusiasm and faith. We know our strengths and weaknesses. We’re ready.
“We’ll go there to find what we’ve been searching for for so many years.”
Photo: Nigeria forward, Ademola Lookman, celebrated after pulling one back for Atletico Madrid in the Uefa Champions League 2025/26 quarter final second leg on Tuesday 14 April, 2026 at Metropolitano | Getty Images
