Atletico Madrid knocks Barcelona out of competition Champions League Despite losing 2-1 in the second leg of the quarter-finals on Tuesday, they advanced 3-2 on aggregate.Barcelona took the lead in the 24th minute through Lamine Yamar and Ferran Torres. However, Ademola Lookman scored for Atletico to prove the point after winning 2-0 in the first leg.Under Diego Simeone, Atletico reached the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time since 2017.Barcelona’s hopes of forcing extra time were hampered late in the game when defender Eric Garcia was sent off for knocking down Alexander Sorrows while sprinting towards goal.Under Simeone, Atletico failed to win and lost in the finals in both 2014 and 2016, and will now face either Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon in the semi-finals.“(We are) very happy, knocking out a great Barcelona team. We played a great game away from home… It was really difficult for us at the beginning, but the team knows how to get back up,” Atletico midfielder Koke told Movistar.Barcelona last won the Champions League in 2015 and they are still waiting for another title. Midfielder Frenkie de Jong said the team was still improving despite the exit.“I thought we played a very good game, we gave our lives, we tried everything,” he said.“I feel like luck is not on our side. We have to keep going – we’re on a good path and we’re growing every year.”Barcelona coach Hansi Flick started Torres and Garvey in attack, leaving Marcus Rashford and Robert Lewandowski on the bench.Barcelona started strongly and Yamal scored in the fourth minute after forcing a mistake from Clement Lenglet. In the 24th minute, Torres doubled the lead after receiving a pass from Dani Olmo.Atletico Madrid responded in the 31st minute, with Marcos Llorente assisting Lookman for the goal.Barcelona thought Torres had scored a third goal of the second half, but it was disallowed for offside.Tensions mounted as goalkeeper Joan Garcia made a save to deny Robin Le Normand and Matteo Ruggieri bled after contact with Garvey.The game against Barcelona worsened further when Eric Garcia was sent off late in the game. Flick pushed Ronald Araujo forward but Atletico held on in stoppage time to secure their place in the semi-finals.
