Ademola Lookman scored the decisive goal as Atletico Madrid advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League with a 3–2 aggregate victory over FC Barcelona.
Despite a 2–1 defeat in the second leg on Tuesday night, Lookman’s first-half strike proved decisive, securing Atletico’s place in the final four for the first time since the 2016–17 season.
His goal continues an impressive European campaign for the Nigerian forward, who has been one of Atletico’s key attacking threats this season since joining the Spanish side in the January transfer window from Atalanta.
The Super Eagles winger has also climbed to third place among Nigeria’s all-time top scorers in the competition with eight goals, moving behind Obafemi Martins and Victor Osimhen.
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Barcelona started brightly and took the lead in the fourth minute through Lamine Yamal. The hosts continued to push forward and levelled the tie on aggregate in the 24th minute when Ferran Torres curled an effort into the top corner.
Atletico responded quickly, and in the 31st minute, Marcos Llorente led a counterattack before picking out Lookman, who finished calmly to restore his side’s aggregate advantage.
Barcelona thought they had equalised again early in the second half when Torres found the net in the 55th minute, but the goal was ruled out following a VAR review for offside.
Lookman was withdrawn in the 66th minute, with Atletico making further changes to manage the game, while Barcelona introduced fresh attacking options in search of a comeback.
The visitors’ hopes suffered a major setback in the 80th minute when Eric Garcia was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity after bringing down Alexander Sorloth.
With the numerical advantage, Atletico saw out the closing stages, holding firm under late pressure to secure their place in the semifinals and eliminate Hansi Flick’s side.
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