Atletico Madrid bounced back from two goals down on aggregate against Inter Milan to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with a thrilling 3-2 penalty shoot-out triumph, while Borussia Dortmund advanced to the next stage with a 2-0 win on Wednesday night.
Trailing by a single goal after last month’s first leg, Atletico looked dead and buried when Federico Dimarco pushed home Inter’s opener at the Estadio Metropolitano.
But Antoine Griezmann immediately pulled the hosts level on the night and three minutes before the end of the regulation 90 minutes substitute Memphis Depay took the tie to extra time at 2-2 with a fine low finish.
That set up the decisive shoot-out which ended with Inter missing three of their five penalties, star striker Lautaro Martinez handing passage to the last eight to Atletico when he booted his spot-kick way off target.
Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who saved from Alexis Sanchez and Davy Klaassen, said: “I think penalties are a lottery. Today luckily I stopped two.
“It’s not easy to stop a penalty. Sometimes it looks easy from the outside but it’s not.
“I’m very, very happy for the team because I think we did a great match.
“We played well. Maybe in the last month we’ve not been in great shape but we showed we can do much more.”
The two teams could barely have come into Wednesday’s match in more contrasting form as Inter had won 13 matches on the bounce since the start of 2024 while Atletico had won only one of their last five.
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However, it was an even and exciting contest in the Spanish capital in which Atletico pushed hard for the win and both sides created a clutch of opportunities.
Home advantage turned out to be crucial for Atletico who have won 19 of their 21 fixtures at the Metropolitano in all competitions.
Atletico are also unbeaten in 17 knockout matches on home turf in the Champions League and in front of a passionate crowd they fought back from an impossible-looking position against runaway Serie A leaders Inter.
In the other game, a third-minute goal from Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus’ late strike sent Dortmund through to the Champions League last eight with a 2-0 win, sealing a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Level at 1-1 after the last-16 first leg in the Netherlands, Sancho wasted no time in putting Dortmund ahead at the Westfalenstadion with a low shot from outside the area – his first Champions League goal since November 2021.
Dortmund were shaky despite the early lead and needed a fair share of luck and some poor PSV finishing to progress, with Hirving Lozano’s 53rd-minute effort hitting the post.
PSV pushed forwards in stoppage time looking for an equaliser but instead gave away another goal, as Isaac Babadi’s unfortunate slip allowed Reus to seal the win.
Dortmund, 20 points behind Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and out of the German Cup, came into the game knowing the Champions League was their only hope of lifting silverware this season.
Despite their poor domestic campaign, Dortmund have impressed in Europe, emerging first from a group featuring Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan and Newcastle.
PSV are unbeaten in the Eredivisie and cantering towards their first league title since 2018.
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