Atletico Madrid players celebrate at the end of the Champions League quarter final second leg football match against Barcelona at Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, Spain, April 14, 2026. (Photo: CFP)
Atletico Madrid sent 10-man Barcelona crashing out of the Champions League and reached the final four with a 3-2 aggregate victory despite Tuesday's 2-1 quarter-final second leg defeat.
Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres fired visitors Barca ahead inside 24 minutes but Ademola Lookman's strike gave Atletico the edge in the gripping all-Spanish tie once again after their 2-0 win in the first leg.
Diego Simeone's side returned to the semi-finals for the first time since 2017 by holding on against the La Liga champions in a compelling and bloody battle.
Barcelona defender Eric Garcia was sent off for bringing down Alexander Sorloth as he ran in on goal in the final stages, hampering their chances of finding a third goal to force extra-time.
Atletico, who have never won the competition and lost the 2014 and 2016 finals with Simeone at the helm, will face Arsenal or Sporting Lisbon in the semi-finals.
"(We're) very happy, knocking out a great Barca side. We had a great game away... it was really hard for us at the start (of this one), but the team knew how to get back on its feet," Atletico midfielder Koke told Movistar.
Barcelona last won the Champions League in 2015 and their wait for a sixth crown continues, but midfielder Frenkie de Jong said that the club was on the right path despite their elimination.
"I think we had a very good game, we gave our lives out there, we tried everything," said the Dutchman.
"I feel like luck was not on our side. We have to continue -- we're on a good path, we're growing every year."
Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Ousmane Dembele celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Champions League quarter final against Liverpool at Anfield in Liverpool, England, April 14, 2026. (Photo: VCG)
Elsewhere, Ousmane Dembele's double guided Paris Saint-Germain into the semi-finals as a 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield on Tuesday completed a 4-0 aggregate win for the holders.
To compound the English champions' woes, Hugo Ekitike suffered a serious-looking injury that could end his season and hinder Liverpool's chances of being back among Europe's elite next season.
Arne Slot's men sit fifth in the Premier League and will end the campaign trophyless after being kept at arm's reach by a PSG side that did not need to be at their brilliant best to reach a third consecutive semi-final.
Defeat means there will be no glorious goodbye for Mohamed Salah after nine memorable years on Merseyside.
PSG had plenty of chances to have put the tie to bed in the Parc des Princes last week and were profligate once more. Dembele finally killed the tie off 18 minutes from time when he cut onto his left foot and curled into the bottom corner from outside the box.
The French international then inflicted the final blow with a cool finish from Bradley Barcola's cross in stoppage time.
PSG will face a tougher test against the in-form Bayern Munich or 15-time winners Real Madrid in the last four.
But after ending the Qatari-backed French champions' long wait to conquer Europe last season, Luis Enrique's men remain on course to become the only side other than Madrid to retain the competition in the Champions League era.