Atletico Beats Barca To Reach CL Semis After Waiting For 40-Years

Atletico Madrid reached the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time following a 1-0 win over Spanish rivals Barcelona this evening. It means Atletico would play in the last-four of Europe's premier club competition for the first time in 40 years, after they reached the final of the European Cup in 1974.

LONG WAIT: Atletico's Koke Wheels Away After Scoring

According to reports on ESPN, Koke's fifth-minute strike was enough to send Atletico through to the last four, although Diego Simeone's men could have killed the tie off in a breathless first 20 minutes. Atletico, without injured star striker Diego Costa, hit the woodwork three times during their early burst and wasted several other chances late on.

It was the sort of profligacy that Barca might have been expected to punish, but they never found any consistent attacking threat - with Lionel Messi largely ineffective - to send the Catalans to their earliest exit in seven years.

Barca may yet also lose out to Atletico for the Primera Division title - the play each other on the final day - and will do so having suffered a first loss to the capital club in four years.