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Andy Hunter was at Anfield to see Liverpool’s inevitable exit to PSG.
It is Arsenal or Sporting for Atletico.
What else is left to say? Plenty of thunder and guts over the two legs.
Full time: Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona, agg 3-2
The match had pretty much everything but it is Atletico that make it through!
90+7 mins: WHAT A CHANCE! A cross reaches Araujo but he gets under the ball and heads over from five yards.
IS THAT THE GAME?!
90+6 mins: It is all Barca in injury time but they do not have a cunning idea. De Jong clips in a cross but Musso comes out to claim.
A deflected shot reaches Rashford in the box but his pullback finds no one and Llorente clears.
90+5 mins: Yamal is cleaned out when trying to lead a charge. An unsurprising tactic from Atletico.
90+4 mins: Rashford swings in another dangerous cross but Atletico get the first head on it.
Araujo is on to provide some additional height in the box but he is not tall enough to get his head on another cross.
90+3 mins: Rashford is on the deck moaning about something but this is not the time for lying down.
90+2 mins: A Pedri cross is attacked by Lewandowski but it lacks the power to trouble the goalkeeper.
90+1 mins: VAR looks to see if Joan Garcia catches the ball outside the area but it is cleared.
90 mins: Rashford whips in a cross from deep on the left which beats everyone but only goes an inch or two wide.
EIGHT minutes added on.
89 mins: Atletico are not panicking. Barca send on Araujo and Bardghji for Olmo and Cancelo.
Cardoso replaces Koke.
88 mins: Sorloth sends Molina through but he does not have the energy to complete the job, running out of steam before shooting in tired fashion at Joan Garcia.
87 mins: Kári Tulinius says: “Is there a less like-for-like substitution of two attackers than taking off the Griezmann the lock picker and replacing him with Sorloth the battering ram? Atlético certainly have more than one way to play.”
86 mins: Gonzalez swings a boot at the ball in the box but his shot goes wide.
Sorloth wants a penalty for a handball but nothing is happening. Simeone is living his best life on the touchline.
84 mins: Sorloth gives Atletico a good target up top and they are eager to whack it up to him.
83 mins: Atletico have a corner on the left …Alvarez takes it short and Ruggieri belatedly slings it in but Barca clear.
82 mins: Alvarez eyes the free-kick towards the top corner but Joan Garcia holds onto it.
Can the 10 men of Barcelona get back into this? They need to get Yamal back on the ball.
De Jong replaces Gavi.
RED CARD! Eric Garcia
80 mins: A bit harsh for me but there you go. Garcia walks down the tunnel and chucks his shirt.
79 mins: VAR continues … we are off to the monitor. This is not good news for Garcia … I think there is cover. Sorloth is not the quickest.
78 mins: Sorloth is sent through on goal and looks to get away from Garcia but is clipped. The centre back is booked because there is cover from Kounde but Simeone wants a red. VAR is having a look, just to build the tension inside the ground. I remember Garcia at City, he always ran through treacle …
76 mins: Sorloth enters, Griezmann departs.
74 mins: Griezmann restarts play with a free-kick and it is cleared by Olmo for a throw. The ball is then slung into the box, bounces a round until it lands for Le Normand to straight from six yards but the goalkeeper produces a fine save.
72 mins: Gavi is booked for inflicting the injury and Koke is not happy with him but he seems pretty irritated about everything. Ruggieri gets a fancy blue head bandage and an unblooded shirt.
71 mins: Sorloth is primed to come on. Ruggieri is still having his cut dealt with by the medical staff.
70 mins: Joan Garcia produces a truly dreadful pass which comes straight back to the Barcelona box. Griezmann slips the ball to Llorente who flashes a shot across goal.
Ruggieri is on the deck in pain with a nasty cut on his forehead after being caught by Gavi.
68 mins: Atletico get into a good position but the pullback from Alvarez finds no one.
Simeone is doing his best to rile the crowd. Atletico need them, that’s for sure.
Lewandowski and Rashford are on for Torres and Lopez.
66 mins: Yamal wriggles through a few Atletico defenders and taps a pass to Olmo but he is off-balance and lifts a shot offer from close range.
Atletico send on Alex Baena and Nico Gonzalez, Simeone and Lookman off.
64 mins: Atletico are happy to absorb pressure and wait for a chance to counter. They also look extremely content to foul Barcelona to break up play. I think the referee may need to become more stern here.
62 mins: Martin decides to clip a cross into the box from deep, which is not very Barcelona of him.
Barca get a corner soon after thanks to Olmo having his shot deflected wide. It is taken short, allowing Yamal to dribble into the box but he takes the ball straight out of play.
Tim Smith writes: “Whenever I read or hear of a Terry Butcher reference, I think of an interview with Diego Maradona (RIP great man). In the interview, Diego is asked to recount/apologize for the hand of god goal. In heavily accented English, he asks, “Who is Terry Butcher. Who is this Butcher?” I honestly think he does not remember him, and with the pure disdain in his voice, it still makes me laugh.”
60 mins: Yamal dribbles for what feels like an eternity, chased by four in red and white, eventually bundling him over on the right touchline. It feels like the winger has another key moment in him.
58 mins: Barcelona can take the positives that Ferran Torres put the ball in the back of the net after a period of sustained pressure. This tie is a long way from done.
NO GOAL! Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona, agg 3-2
Ferran Torres is ruled to be offside and the goal will not stand.
GOAL! Atletico Madrid 1-3 Barcelona, agg 3-3 (Ferran Torres, 55)
THE TIE IS LEVEL!
53 mins: Yamal beats a couple of defenders and then goes down in the box. He wants a penalty but there is no chance of that, even VAR can’t be bothered.
Alvarez then leads a counter attack and reaches the edge of the box before turning back to tee up Lookman, who bends his shot just wide.
51 mins: Lopez has outdone Terry Butcher here; not only does he have a bandage around the head but also a massive plaster to cover a cut on his face.
49 mins: Cancelo loses the ball and fouls Koke to relieve his frustration.
The referee stops play after Eric Garcia crashes to the turf and needs a few seconds to get his breath back.
47 mins: Barcelona have dominated the ball in the early stages of the second half but without giving the impression of breaking through.
Second half
Hold onto your hats.
Half-time reading.
Half time: Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona agg 3-2
What a ludicrous half of football. It was relentless from the off and we will all be thankful for 15 minutes to catch out breath. I am sure it will be more of the same after the break.
45+2 mins: Lopez allows a pass to go behind because it takes a nick off a Atletico player. The referee does not spot it and is perplexed why Barcelona are so angry at the award of a goal kick.
45 mins: Four minutes added.
43 mins: Yamal produces some smart work on the right and pings a cross into a dangerous area but there is no one there to score and Atletico clear.
41 mins: Le Norman flies into a challenge with Olmo. All is fair in love an war.
Lopez fires a pass to Olmo into the box, he takes a touch and wants to shoo but goes down under pressure. He wants a penalty but the referee is unmoved. VAR eventually clears it.
Ferran Torres then has a chance but Musso comes out quickly to block.
39 mins: Pedri’s pass is intercepted, although the Barca man is fouled, allowing Atletico to break. It reaches Griezmann on the edge of the box and he takes aim but his shot is blocked.
37 mins: There is a good bit of scrapping on the edge of the Barca box as Atletico try to break through but the visitors just about get the better of the hosts.
35 mins: This is starting to feel like a game of the season contender, boosted by a cracking atmosphere in the Spanish capital.
Justin Kavanagh emails: “This game is bonkers … I need a lie-down and it’s not even half-time. Más of this, por favor!”
Just be pleased you’re not having to do the MBM. Relentless.
33 mins: This is a very open game of football. The latest bit of fun sees Yamal try to dribble through four defenders and he almost succeeds. This is silly soccer.
GOAL! Llorente breaks down the right and he slides a cross into the path of Lookman who does the rest from eight yards.
GOAL! Atletico Madrid 1-2 Barcelona, agg 3-2 (Lookman, 31)
The boy from Wandsworth sends the crowd wild.
