Atlético hold off Barça as PSG also reach Champions League semis

Barcelona's Pedri and Madrid's Julian Alvarez battle for the ball during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona at Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Samuel Carreno/News Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Atlético Madrid fought off Barcelona's charge in a pulsating clash and holders Paris Saint-Germain finished off Liverpool on Tuesday to both reach the Champions League semi-finals.

Barça headed to Atlético 2-0 down from the quarter-final first leg, yet early goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres gave them hope of a memorable comeback against their Spanish rivals.

But Ademola Lookman's finish later in the first half handed the hosts a 3-2 aggregate lead and a red card for Eric García after a professional foul on 79 minutes effectively ended Barcelona's dream.

"We're absolutely delighted. Barcelona are such a top-class side. We put in a brilliant performance over there and the team managed to bounce back today," said Atlético captain Koke, whose side eliminated the Catalans in a Champions League quarter-final for the third time.

Atléti have never won Europe's top club prize but the 1974, 2014 and 2016 runners-up are back in the semi-finals for the first time since 2017 after edging the five-times champions.

Diego Simeone's side next face Arsenal or Sporting, who play their second leg on Wednesday.

Ousmane Dembélé scored twice as PSG won 2-0 in rainy north-west England and 4-0 on aggregate to seal a meeting with Bayern Munich or record winners Real Madrid in late April and early May.

"It's the little things that make the difference in a match. We managed to stay strong and defended well," PSG skipper Marquinhos, who made a last-ditch tackle to deny Virgil van Dijk, told Canal+.

PSG won their first Champions League title last term after ditching the idea of collecting world stars and instead building a young team.

The plan has continued to pay dividends this season and a 2-0 win at the Parc des Princes last week set them up perfectly to deal with Tuesday's Anfield second-leg cauldron, where they also progressed last season in the last 16.

Liverpool's luck was summed up by Hugo Ekitiké going off with a serious-looking injury as Mo Salah came off the bench. Fellow injury-prone big signing Alexander Isak was hooked at the break.

The hosts were awarded a penalty for a foul on Alexis Mac Allister in the second half, but it was overturned on video review as replays suggested the Argentina man had only slipped.

World player of the year Dembélé scored from the edge of the area soon afterwards and added another on the counter in stoppage time.

Liverpool, fifth domestically, have this term been a shadow of the side which romped to the Premier League crown last season.

"We lost, but we have to build from that and realize how good we can be," Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konaté told Prime Video.

Young Catalans denied

Spanish league leaders Barcelona were stunned at the Nou Camp by Atléti in last week's first leg and went to Madrid with their youngest team in a Champions League knock-out clash.

The average age was 24 years and 347 days and the youngest, 18-year-old Yamal, had a good chance early on before netting after just four minutes to silence an otherwise bouncing Metropolitano.

The home defence was all at sea as Torres played in the Spain star, who had blocked ex-Barcelona defender Clément Lenglet's backpass.

It was 2-0 some 20 minutes later when Dani Olmo assisted Torres for a superb finish. Fermin Lopez then spurned a top chance for 3-0.

It was costly as Lookman converted Marcos Llorente's whipped cross to put the hosts ahead again in the tie after a breathless half an hour.

Opportunities came and went at both ends in the second half, with Lookman firing wide and Torres having a goal ruled out for offside.

Hansi Flick's team kept pushing, with Robert Lewandowski and Marcus Rashford brought on, but they could not find the goal to force extra-time after García's red following a protracted review.

"We're disappointed. We had plenty of chances. We had the chance to make it 3-0, but in the end we conceded that key goal," the German boss said. "We weren’t very lucky. That’s just how it went."

Paris Saint-Germain's Joao Neves and Liverpool's Hugo Ekitike battle for the ball during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg soccer match between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield. Peter Byrne/PA Wire/dpa