Atletico Madrid booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Champions League following a 4-1 win over AC Milan at the Vicente Calderon on Tuesday evening.
The Spanish side led 1-0 from the first leg of the last-16 clash last month and extended that aggregate lead to 2-0 early on when Diego Costa converted from close range.
Kaka levelled on the night after 27 minutes, but a deflected effort from Arda Turan in the latter stages of the first half left Atletico 2-1 ahead.
Raul Garcia made it three in the second period with a powerful header, before Costa added his second late on to ensure that the La Liga outfit advanced 5-1 on aggregate.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two European rivals.
Match statistics
Atletico
Shots: 13
On target: 7
Possession: 45%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 10
Milan
Shots: 11
On target: 5
Possession: 55%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 17
Was the result fair?
There is no question that Atletico deserved to advance from the clash this evening, but a 4-1 scoreline is perhaps slightly harsh on Milan, who caused the home side problems, certainly in the latter stages of the first period. Atletico had a slight wobble after Kaka equalised, but they recovered from that moment to dominate proceedings in the second 45 minutes.
Atletico's performance
It is no secret that Atletico have struggled to match their intensity levels from earlier in the season in recent weeks, but they returned to their best this evening. Costa's early strike handed them the perfect start and despite a blip after conceding, they were much the stronger outfit at the Calderon. As expected, their defence was extremely compact, while midfielders Koke and Turan were also terrific in support of Costa. Not many teams will relish the prospect of facing Diego Simeone's side in the next round.
Milan's performance
In fairness to Milan, they had a 20-minute period in the first half when they caused Atletico all sorts of problems. It had been feared that they would roll over after falling behind on the night inside three minutes, but they did show their character to launch a response. However, their heads dropped when Turan's effort flew into the top corner in the latter stages of the first period and from that moment, never really offered the impression that they could turn it around. The scoreline points to a bit of a hiding, but head coach Clarence Seedorf can take positives from the clash.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Diego Costa: Costa sent Atletico on their way to a comfortable victory this evening when he opened the scoring inside three minutes. The Spanish international was not finished on the goal-scoring front, however, as he added his second late on, taking his tally to 29 for the season and seven in the Champions League. Milan just had no answer to the powerful forward's movement in the final third. In this type of form, he is arguably the most impressive centre-forward in European football. One thing is for certain, he has made Radamel Falcao a distant memory for Atletico supporters this season.
Biggest gaffe
Having handed Milan a route back into the match after 27 minutes, Kaka had a wonderful chance to move his side ahead on away goals five minutes before the interval. A deep cross from Adel Taarabt found the Brazilian, but he headed high and wide of the crossbar under little pressure. It came during a spell when Milan were in utter control of the contest. Had the Milan skipper found the back of the net, it might have been a different result.
Referee performance
It proved to be a relatively straightforward evening for English official Mark Clattenburg in the Spanish capital. The referee issued five yellow cards in total, one for Atletico and four to the visitors. However, he was not seen for long spells, which is always a good sign for a referee. Neither manager will have had too many complaints with his work in Madrid.
What next?
Atletico: Atletico's La Liga title challenge continues with a home match against Espanyol on Saturday evening.
Milan: Next up for Milan in Serie A is a home fixture against Parma on Sunday afternoon.
Matt Law
