Madrid, April 15: Long after the game against Barcelona ended, Atletico Madrid players were back on the field at the Metropolitano stadium to celebrate.
They chanted along with the fans, and jumped and danced among themselves.
It was a big night for Atletico.
Diego Simeone’s team held on after an early charge by Barcelona to make it back to the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in nearly a decade.
Atletico lost 2-1 but advanced 3-2 on aggregate after having won the first leg 2-0 in Barcelona last week. It will be the team’s first last-four appearance in the European competition since 2017.
“To play in a Champions League semifinal, how nice, how nice…” said Simeone, who was visibly moved after the thrilling back-and-forth game.
“It’s been 14 years and honestly, seeing the team still competing really moves me,” Simeone said. “The players have changed, we’ve had to start over many times and yet here we are again among the top four in Europe.”
Simeone has been in charge of the club since late 2011. Atletico, seeking its first Champions League title, lost in the 2017 semifinals to Real Madrid. It also lost to Madrid in both finals it played against the city rival in the Champions League, in 2014 and 2016.
Barcelona, trying to return to the last four for the second season in a row, scored twice in the first 24 minutes to even the series, with Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres finding the net.
Atletico struck back still in the first half with a goal by Ademola Lookman.
The Catalan club played a man down from the 79th after defender Eric Garcia was shown a red card for fouling Alexander Sorloth to stop a breakaway.
Atletico will face either Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon in the semifinals. Arsenal won the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon last week. Their second leg in London is on Wednesday.
The game in Madrid was stopped for several moments near the 70th minute because Atletico defender Matteo Ruggieri sustained a cut on his forehead after being elbowed by Barcelona midfielder Gavi during a dispute for the ball.
Yamal opened the scoring four minutes into the match at Metropolitano stadium, entering the area free from defenders after Atletico lost possession on a passing mistake by defender Clement Lenglet.
With his goal, Yamal became the top Champions League scorer under the age of 19 with 11, one more than Kylian Mbappe.
The visitors added to the lead on the night – evening the tie at 2-2 – in the 24th, with Torres picking up a through ball by Dani Olmo and finding the top corner by the far post.
Fermin Lopez nearly added the third a minute later but his close-range header was saved by Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso.
The hosts struck back in the 31st with Lookman scoring from inside the area in a breakaway after a low cross by Marcos Llorente.
Barcelona thought it had equalized the series again, but Torres’ 57th-minute goal was disallowed for offside.
Defender Ronald Araujo had Barcelona’s last chance but his close-range header in stoppage time went over the crossbar.
Simeone kept Musso in goal instead of promoting the return of regular starter Jan Oblak, who has recovered from a muscle injury but hasn’t played since March 10.
Atletico can cap its week with the Copa del Rey title on Saturday. It will face Real Sociedad to try to win the competition for the first time since 2013.
Raphinha apologises for gesture toward Atletico fans
Barcelona forward Raphinha has apologised for his gesture toward Atletico Madrid fans after his team’s elimination in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Raphinha, who didn’t play on Tuesday because of a hamstring injury, also criticised the refereeing, making the “robbed” sign with his hands, and later told reporters that Barcelona was “robbed” over the two legs.
The Brazil star is likely to face punishment from UEFA for his actions at the Metropolitano stadium.
While still on the field, he gestured toward Atletico supporters and made a gesture apparently indicating that the rival will be eliminated in the next round. He appeared to tell fans “you are out.”
“I apologise for my gesture, which does not reflect my values or character,” Raphinha said on Wednesday in a comment to a DAZN post that showed him gesturing to the crowd. “It was an act in a moment of tension, in response to a fan who was disrespecting me.”
Barcelona, seeking to return to the semifinals of the Champions League for the second season in a row, won 2-1 on Tuesday but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 2-0 loss at home in the first leg last week.
Atletico goalkeeper Juan Musso said it was nonsense for Raphinha to say Barcelona was robbed.
“I respect everyone’s opinion, but let’s not say that it was a robbery, because it wasn’t like that,” Musso said. “We won it on the field. We won 2-0 on the road. It’s a team that we respect a lot and are very motivated to play against. It’s a great team, but I think that to talk about robbery is just crazy.”
Raphinha did not immediately apologise for his comments about the refereeing.
“To me, it was ‘robbed’,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Not only this match, but the other one as well. The refereeing was very bad. Incredible the decisions that they made. Atletico made a lot of fouls and the referee didn’t show a single yellow card.”
Other players also criticised the refereeing over the two legs.
President-elect Joan Laporta said Wednesday that the refereeing was “shameful” and “inadmissible,” and said the club planned to present a formal complaint with UEFA. (AP)
