Atletico Madrid qualifies to Champions League semifinals after beating Barcelona 2-0

Holders Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League after Antoine Griezmann scored twice to give Atlético Madrid a deserved 2-0 victory at the Vicente Calderon and a 3-2 aggregate quarterfinal win. After frustrating Barcelona early on, Atlético pounced to take the lead and crank up the volume yet further on an already fired up crowd when Griezmann found himself free in the box and superbly headed past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Barcelona had come back from a goal down to beat Atlético in all three of their precious meetings this season, including in last week’s first leg at the Camp Nou. But this time they found the task of breaking down Atlético’s ferocious resistance an impossible one after a dramatic closing few minutes.
First, with two minutes remaining, Atlético were awarded a penalty when Andres Iniesta clearly stuck out his hand in his own penalty bow to prevent the ball from reaching a wide open Atlético forward with a clear strike of goal. A penalty was duly awarded, but Atlético’s players, and manager Diego Simeone on the sidelines, were understandably furious that Iniesta had not also been shown a red card.
Griezmann stuck home his penalty, but more controversy was soon to follow. As the match ticked into injury time, Atlético captain Gabi blocked an Iniesta cross with his arm a yard inside his own area, but Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli only awarded a free-kick. When Lionel Messi curled his effort over the bar, Barcelona’s hopes were ended and the Atlético fans duly celebrated the ball flying into the stands as if it were their team finding the back of the net.
Despite being regarded as one of the greatest teams in history, Barcelona have again discovered why no team has yet retained the European Cup in the Champions League era. For Atlético, it is a glorious repeat of their victory over Barcelona at the same stage two years ago, and yet another stunning triumph against the odds for Simone’s men. Their focus now will be on going one better than in 2014, when being denied the trophy in agonizing circumstances after an injury-time Real Madrid equalizer.