MADRID, April 11: Atletico Madrid moved closer to returning to the Champions League semifinals with a 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Atletico took a first-half lead with goals by Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino and outplayed Dortmund during most of the match, but the German team stayed alive thanks to a late goal by substitute Sébastien Haller.
Dortmund threatened in the end and twice hit the woodwork in the final minutes.
The second leg will be played next Tuesday in Germany.
“We will be ready and hopefully we can put Atletico back in the semifinals of the Champions League,” De Paul said. “We will give all we have to make sure that happens, but we know that it’s going to be complicated.”
Atletico has not made it to the last four since 2017, when it lost to city rival Real Madrid.
The Spanish club has won three of its last six quarterfinals.
Dortmund, the 1997 European champion, is looking to return to the semifinals for the first time since 2012-13, when it lost the final to fellow German club Bayern Munich.
“We have to live with this result today,” Dortmund captain Emre Can said. “It’s not easy to play football here because they defend very well. There were phases where they completely overpowered us in the duels. So we’ll take the 2-1 and everything is open for next week.”
Atletico has won 29 of its last 32 home games across all tournaments. It was Simeone’s 50th Champions League win.
The result kept Atletico unbeaten in 18 knockout-round games at home in the Champions League with its last defeat coming against Ajax in the quarterfinals in 1997.
Dortmund has won only one of its last 11 away matches in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Mats Hummels made his 500th appearance for Dortmund. (PTI)
