Champions League shocks

Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético Madrid are through to the UEFA Champions League semifinals after Tuesday’s second legs reshaped the bracket. (uefa.com) Paris won 2-0 at Liverpool on April 14, with Ousmane Dembélé scoring both goals at Anfield to finish a 4-0 aggregate quarterfinal victory. The first leg in Paris had already ended 2-0 on April 8 through goals from Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. (uefa.com, uefa.com) Atlético lost 2-1 at home to Barcelona in the second leg, but Diego Simeone’s team still advanced 3-2 on aggregate after winning 2-0 in Barcelona six days earlier. Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres scored for Barcelona on Tuesday before Ademola Lookman pulled one back for Atlético. (uefa.com, uefa.com) The semifinal place is Atlético’s first in Europe’s top club competition since the 2016-17 season. Simeone said after the match that his squad had “start[ed] over many times” and still returned to the final four. (uefa.com) Paris arrived as defending champions and now have another semifinal after eliminating Liverpool without conceding across 180 minutes. UEFA’s match report said Paris had won at Anfield for the second straight season in the competition. (uefa.com) The quarterfinals are split across two weeks, with the other second legs scheduled for Wednesday, April 15: Bayern Munich lead Real Madrid 2-1 from the first leg, and Arsenal lead Sporting Clube de Portugal 1-0. UEFA lists the semifinals between May 4 and May 29, with the final set for May 30 in Budapest. (uefa.com, uefa.com) The bracket was fixed by the February 27 draw, so Tuesday’s winners simply filled the semifinal slots rather than triggering a new draw. UEFA’s bracket page shows Paris on one side and Atlético on the other as the tournament moves into its final four. (uefa.com, uefa.com) For now, the shock was less about one upset than two different routes through: Paris controlled both legs against Liverpool, while Atlético survived a second-leg defeat and advanced anyway. By the end of Tuesday night, both clubs were one round from Budapest. (uefa.com, uefa.com, uefa.com)