*Dortmund beat Atletico to reach first S’final in 11 years
Femi Solaja
Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Paris St-Germain thrashed Barcelona 4-1 to turn around a first-leg deficit and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League on 6-4 aggregate.
PSG had trailed 3-2 after the first leg in France but took advantage of an early Barcelona sending-off of Ronald Araujo to secure their place in the last four for the first time since 2021. The Catalans coach, Xavi Hernandez was similarly sent off from Barcelona bench for disputing a call.
Luis Enrique’s side face a semi-final against Borussia Dortmund, who beat Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate in a thrilling encounter in Germany.
In the other match of the night, Borussia Dortmund reached their first Champions League semi-final in 11 years after producing a superb second-half comeback to beat Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate.
Having lost the first leg 2-1 in Madrid, Dortmund quickly turned things around with Julian Brandt and Chelsea loanee Ian Maatsen both scoring from tight angles in the first half.
But Atletico Madrid made it 2-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate when Mario Hermoso’s header deflected off Dortmund defender Matts Hummels shortly after the restart.
Angel Correa then gave Atletico Madrid a 4-3 aggregate lead when he smashed in a rebounded finish from close range in the 64th minute.
But Dortmund levelled once again in a thrilling second half as Niclas Fullkrug finished off Marcel Sabitzer’s cross with a looping header after 71 minutes.
And less than three minutes later Sabitzer struck Dortmund’s winner with a drilled finish into the bottom corner to round off a sublime quarter-final tie.
The semi-final first leg takes place on 30 April with the second leg on 7 May.
RESULTS
UCL
Barcelona 1-4 PSG
(PSG 6-4 agg.)
Dortmund 4-2 Atletico)
(Dortmund 5-4 agg)
TODAY@8pm
B’Munich v Arsenal
Man City v R’Madrid
NPFL
Rangers 3-2 Abia War
Gombe 1-2 Kwara Utd
Enyimba 1 -0 Heartland
Bayelsa 1-1 Katsina Utd
Insurance 2-1 Kano Pillars
Sporting 1-0 Sunshine
Rivers Utd 3-1 Plateau
