An early goal from Koke was enough for Atletico Madrid to book their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League, beating Barcelona 2-1 on aggregate.
© AFP
The home side looked strong from the start, and managed to edge ahead after just six minutes when Koke slotted the ball home from an Adrian header forwards.
David Villa came close to adding a second just a couple of minutes later when Jose Pinto was slow to clear from in front of his own goal, but the Barcelona keeper just managed to clear the danger in time.
© AFP
Villa looked sharp throughout the opening period, rattling the goal posts three times inside the first 20 minutes.
Andres Iniesta created a couple of half-chances for the visitors, while Lionel Messi headed wide from a Dani Alves cross, but the La Liga champions could not get back on level terms before the break.
Thibaut Courtois had to be sharp at the start of the second half as Xavi set up Neymar for the shot, but the on-loan keeper was able to deny the Brazilian.
Xavi continued to provide a threat for Barcelona, but headed just wide from close range on the hour mark.
Atletico believed that they should have had a penalty inside the final 20 minutes, but Howard Webb waved away away Villa's appeals after he appeared to be brought down by Javier Mascherano.
Both sides pressed hard in the final 10 minutes as the hosts tried to put the win beyond doubt, while Barcelona attempted to force extra time.
The visitors won a corner in the final minutes, but Jordi Alba lost out to Juanfran, who cleared the danger for Atletico.
Pedro tried to cross the ball back in for Barcelona, but it was comfortably claimed by Courtois, before Pinto had to make a stop at the other ends moments later, denying Cristian Rodriguez and sealing the Madrid side's place in the last four.
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