
Atletico Madrid welcomed Barcelona to the Vicente Calderon for the second leg of its Champions League quarterfinal tie. Atletico, which was beaten 2-1 in the first leg, was without forward Fernando Torres who was sent off in the first game.

Neymar was given special attention by the Atletico defenders in a high octane start to the contest.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi failed to make an impact in the first half. The forward had not managed to score in 362 minutes of action before arriving in Madrid -- his worst run in five years.

Atletico's Saul was one of the most impressive players on the field -- showcasing a number of neat touches. It was his wonderful cross which set up Antoine Griezmann for his side's opening goal.

Saul picked out Griezmann with a wonderful pass using the outside of his boot and the Frenchman powered a header into the net for his 28th goal of the season.

Barcelona managed just one touch inside the Atletico penalty area in the first half as it struggled to get into the game.

Luis Suarez went close to grabbing an equalizer after the interval when his snapshot was well saved by Jan Oblak in the Atletico goal.

As Barcelona pushed forward, Atletico took full advantage of the extra space and Griezmann fired home his side's second from the penalty spot after Andres Iniesta had handled the ball.

Barcelona had a late shout for a penalty when Iniesta's shot appeared to hit Gabi's arm inside the area but a free kick was awarded instead. Messi, who fired the free kick over the crossbar, failed to impress.

Atletico's players celebrated long and hard after its victory. It joins Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich in the last four.