Johnny Cardoso made his return for Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, helping Diego Simeone’s men advance to the UEFA Champions League semifinals.

Cardoso made a late cameo as Atletico edged La Liga rivals Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate in quarterfinal second leg action. Despite losing the second leg 2-1 at home, Atletico punched its ticket to the semifinals for the first time since 2017.

Cardoso became the first American player to reach the UCL semifinals since Christian Pulisic did so with Chelsea en route to winning the final in 2021.

Barcelona grabbed a 2-0 lead early through first-half goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres, giving the visitors a jolt of confidence.

However, Ademola Lookman propelled Atletico back in front on aggregate, finishing off Marcos Llorente’s assist seven minutes after Torres things up for Barcelona.

Torres had a second goal chalked off 10 minutes into the second half as VAR ruled in favor of offsides.

Despite continuous pressure from Hansi Flick’s men, their comeback hopes took a hit as Eric Garcia was sent off after receiving a straight red card in the 79th minute.

Cardoso entered the match before second-half stoppage time and would help Atletico grind out the final few minutes. It marked the 24-year-old’s first club appearance since March 22 after he suffered an injury on international duty with the U.S. men’s national team.

Although Simeone’s men have lost five of their last six matches overall in all competitions, they joined reigning UCL holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Final Four.

Atletico Madrid will face either Premier League leaders Arsenal or Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon in the semifinal round later this month. Arsenal currently holds a 1-0 aggregate lead on Sporting heading into Wednesday’s second leg tie in North London.

Cardoso will now turn his focus to potentially starting Saturday’s Copa Del Rey Final, which will see Atletico Madrid take on Pellegrino Matarazzo’s Real Sociedad in Seville.