Borussia Dortmund & Atletico Madrid complete Champions League quarter-final lineup
- Jadon Sancho inspired Borussia Dortmund into Champions League last eight
- Atletico Madrid overcame Inter in a penalty shootout after late Memphis Depay goal
- Quarter & semi-final draws will be made by UEFA on Friday 15 March
Jadon Sancho's early goal helped Borussia Dortmund reach the Champions League quarter-finals for only the second time since 2017, seeing off PSV Eindhoven in their last 16 enounter.
The tie was delicately balanced after the first leg had ended 1-1 in Eindhoven last month. Yet it took Sancho, on loan at his former club from Manchester United, just three minutes to fire Dortmund narrowly ahead on aggregate with a low shot from the edge of the penalty area.
Sancho had seen his career stall in Manchester after falling out with manager Erik ten Hag. His start to life back with Dortmund had proven relatively unremarkable but there will now be renewed hope of a strong finish to the campaign leading into a crucial summer transfer window.
In an even game where the sides largely shared possession and attempts, Dortmund had a second goal disallowed when Niclas Fullkrug was deemed to be offside. But Marco Reus made certain of their progression deep into stoppage time, sealing a 2-0 win on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.
The other game on Wednesday went the distance, with Atletico Madrid and Inter needing a penalty shootout to separate them after playing out a 2-2 draw over the course of 210 minutes of football.
Inter had led 1-0 on aggregate from the first leg and looked set to make it through in normal time, even after Antoine Griezmann had cancelled out Federico Dimarco's first half opener on the night. But a clinical 87th minute finish from Memphis Depay near the penalty spot put Atletico level on aggregate and forced an additional 30 minutes, during which neither side wanted to lose.
Penalties ensued and, after Hakan Calhanaoglu and Memphis had each converted, three consecutive misses from Alexis Sanchez, Saul Niguez and Davy Klaassen handed the advantage to Atletico. Rodrigo Riquelme, Francesco Acerbi and Angel Correa all then scored, leaving Diego Simeone's side with a 3-2 lead after four attempts each. Lautaro Martinez needed to convert just to keep Inter alive, But, usually so deadly in front of goal this season, he fired high and wide to hand Atletico the win.
2023/24 UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists
Club |
---|
Bayern Munich |
Paris Saint-Germain |
Manchester City |
Real Madrid |
Arsenal |
Barcelona |
Borussia Dortmund |
Atletico Madrid |