By FRANCO PANIZO
It took five games, but at long last there has been a victor between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
After playing to a 1-1 draw on four separate occasions earlier this season, Atletico Madrid eliminated Barcelona from the UEFA Champions League and advanced to the semifinals of the competition for the first time on Thursday with a 1-0 win that gave them a 2-1 advantage on aggregate.
Koke scored the decisive goal in the fifth minute of the second leg at Vicente Calderon, but Atletico could have put the game away in the first half had they been a little sharper or luckier in front of goal. Three shots hit the woodwork and a few other chances were wasted, giving Barcelona a chance to pull level in the series.
Barcelona were not able to do so, however. They came closest to finding the back of the net on a Leo Messi header in the first half, but he somehow hit the ball wide despite finding himself all alone in the box following a cross from the flank.
Atletico will now play in the final four of Europe’s premier club tournament for the first time in 40 years. They reached the European Cup final back in 1974.
In the other quarterfinals tilt on Wednesday, Manchester United took a lead before Bayern Munich fought back to pick up a 3-1 win that gave the German club a 4-2 victory on aggregate.
Having played to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford last week, United jumped out to a lead on aggregate when Patrice Evra scored the game’s opener in the 57th minute. The celebration for David Moyes and the Red Devils was short-lived, though.
Mario Mandzukic pulled the hosts level two minutes after Evra scored, and Bayern Munich then found the back of the net twice more to further United’s misery. Thomas Muller scored the go-ahead goal in the 68th minute and Arjen Robben added another eight minutes later for the reigning UEFA Champions League winners.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid now join Real Madrid and Chelsea as the four semifinalists in this season’s competition.
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What do you think of Atletico eliminating Barcelona? Is this loss the end of the lines for Moyes at Man Utd? Which of the four remaining clubs do you think will win it all?
Share your thoughts below.
I think our US boys can take a lot of lessons from Atleti. Here’s a team that presses fearlessly for 90 if they need to, but they also know how to shut down shop and defend when necessary. Omar Gonzalez, I hope you are watching. I also hope you are watching US v Ghana from a nice warm spot on the pine.
OG does his fair share of watching….. Usually while the other team scores
Bayern is the team of destiny. Nobody stands a chance against them.
You can say the same about Atletico Madrid.
are they now they 3rd biggest club in Spain
Sevilla/Valencia/Villarreal all had that spot for a few years but all dropped recently
and you had the likes of Bilbao/Malaga/Real Sociedad going from small clubs to at the very least capable of a European spot.
How big is this for the club? 1st CL semi-final ever right? It was only like what 5/6 years ago that they first qualified for the CL
13 years ago they were in the 2nd division. But over the years they have had the likes of Torres, Aguero, Forlan, Falcao, Costa
As it says in the article, they reached the final in 1974.
They lost the final to Bayern in ’74
My prediction : Bayern – Real, Chelsea- Atletico . Final Bayern- Atletico. With Madrid taking it all. Making history. You read it here first.
well that would be awesome, but i don’t see how they don’t make mourinho-real madrid happen (or barring that, mourinho-pep). either way, would love for atletico to win it.
I sure hope it’s not Chelsea v Atletico. Atletico would have to pay Chelsea €3million for every match they play loaned goalkeeper Courtois. (Only applies to matches he plays in the CL against Chelsea.)
Atletico can’t afford that—and they can’t “afford” not to have him in goal.
http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2014/04/10/champions/1397084247_449276.html
sounds like they’ve already decided he’s not playing.
It’s always fun to see where Thomas “The Store Clerk” Muller will show up and score.
I DID NOT SEE THIS GAME
I would take any of the three possible draws.