It was never going to be easy, and it was never going to be without controversy. But eventually Atletico Madrid were rewarded for their persistence as two goals from Antoine Griezmann sent them into the semi-finals and ended Barcelona’s title defence.
Over the two legs it was a deserved victory, too, with Barca only sporadically coming to life while Atletico performed with discipline and purpose throughout, keeping their dreams of a maiden European crown intact.
Barca will rue the rejection of a late penalty appeal which could have forced extra time, they only have themselves to blame for a listless performance which has sent their season into a full-blown crisis.
As a sign of things to come, the opening stages were conducted at a furious pace as Atletico responded to the intense atmosphere by tearing into the visitors, who could have easily lost their aggregate lead very quickly.
Atletico created three decent opportunities inside the first 10 minutes, firstly with skipper Gabi finding space on the edge of the box for an angled drive which he couldn’t keep down. Then the lively Yannick Carrasco sent a 20-yard curler straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen, before his strike partner Griezmann drew another comfortable save from the visiting keeper with a header from Filipe Luis’s left wing cross.
The game then settled down, and a scrappy passage of play ensued with neither team in the ascendancy. As generally happens when they are below their best, Barca were enjoying plenty of possession without coming close to breaching Atletico’s defence, and their first shot took more than 30 minutes to arrive as Lionel Messi curled a free-kick well over the top.
The home team’s early pressure appeared to have evaporated, but they took the lead out of the blue when Saul Niguez found space on the right to clip a delicious cross into the path of Griezmann, who this time buried a pinpoint header.
Barca woke up to register their first effort on target, with Neymar trying his luck with a right footed curler from distance which nearly caught out previously underemployed home keeper Jan Oblak.
But the general pattern of the first half was more accurately reflected when Atletico had another chance shortly before the whistle as the dangerous Carrasco embarked upon a speedy break to force a low diving save from ter Stegen.
Barca’s frustration to date was summed up when Dani Alves sent a very hopeful 25-yard effort far too high early in the second half, and the reigning champions were still struggling to move the ball quickly enough to trouble Atletico.
A dangerous surge by Koke and a snapshot by Carrasco provided more danger to wobbling Barca, and the hosts then came agonisingly close as Saul’s looping header from a half-cleared corner beat ter Stegen but hit the crossbar.
Barca simply had to respond and they finally managed to exert some sustained pressure as the game moved into the final half hour, with Andres Iniesta sending a curling effort straight at Oblak and Luis Suarez spinning to force another save as Atletico looked vulnerable for the first time.
Previous Champions League game in which Barcelona didn't score was 1-0 away against Atletico in April 2015 #fcblive [via @pedritonumeros]
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) April 14, 2016
Tempers briefly flared as Suarez earned a yellow card for a flailing arm on international teammate Godin, and the pressure briefly eased as Atletico settled in for a final defensive stand.
But Barca came on strong once more in the final 10 minutes and Oblak fell on a snapshot from Suarez, only for home left-back Luis to lead a counter-attack which resulted in Iniesta conceding a penalty with a desperate handball, allowing Griezmann to squeeze home the spot-kick.
There was still time for more drama as Iniesta – who should have been sent off for his handball – saw his shot blocked by Gabi’s arm and although the offence took place inside the box, only a free-kick on the edge was awarded.
Messi fired the set-piece over and the Vicente Calderon erupted into celebration.
Elsewhere, Arturo Vidal’s thunderbolt and Thomas Muller’s tap-in comfortably put Bayern Munich through to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the fifth-successive season, this time with a 3-2 aggregate win over Benfica.
Vidal, who last week headed the only goal of the first leg, powerfully volleyed home from the edge of the area 11 minutes after Raul Jimenez bravely nodded the tie level.
Seven minutes after the break Muller steered in a nod-down from a corner, giving the 2013 Champions League winners a second away goal which proved far too much for manager Rui Vitoria’s side to claw back.
Substitute Anderson Talisca’s free-kick gave the hosts hope, but it was too little too late.
