Dembele double fires PSG into semi-finals as Atletico survive Barcelona scare

Ousmane Dembele struck twice to confirm Paris St Germain’s place in the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Liverpool on Tuesday, sealing a 4-0 aggregate win in their quarter-final tie at a rain-soaked Anfield.

The holders soaked up sustained second-half pressure from Liverpool, who were roared on by a raucous home crowd, but built on the advantage they established in the first leg in Paris last week to book their fifth semi-final berth in seven seasons.

Dembele scored at Anfield for a second successive campaign when he latched onto a ball from Bradley Barcola in the 72nd minute and curled a shot into the bottom corner past Giorgi Mamardashvili from 20 yards out. He completed his double early in stoppage time, slotting home a cross from Barcola.

PSG will meet either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the next round.

Boos rang around Anfield in the second half after a penalty was overturned by VAR, initially awarded when Willian Pacho clattered into Alexis Mac Allister in the box.

The game, played in a torrential downpour, was overshadowed by a worrying first-half injury to Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike, who was carried off after going down unchallenged and pointing to his Achilles tendon, leaving the pitch in tears.

PSG dominated the first half, and Dembele’s brace came after he squandered a couple of earlier chances, including a close-range shot that he fired well over the bar and another that Mamardashvili, racing back toward his net, punched clear.

It was virtually all Liverpool early in the second half as Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Joe Gomez and Mac Allister all missed decent chances.

Milos Kerkez looked poised to score after latching onto a brilliant ball from Mohamed Salah, who was making his final Champions League appearance for the home side. But the Hungarian sent the ball wide.

Dembele’s first goal, against the run of play, all but settled the contest, stripping struggling Liverpool, who had previously crashed out of both the FA Cup and League Cup, of any realistic hope of overturning the tie and leaving PSG firmly in control for the remainder of the night.

Atletico Madrid reached their first Champions League semi-final in nine years on Tuesday, squeezing past Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate despite a nerve-racking 2-1 home defeat that had the Metropolitano crowd holding its breath until the final whistle.

Diego Simeone’s side thought they had done much of the heavy lifting with a 2-0 win at the Camp Nou in the first leg but that cushion was wiped out by an early Barca blitz as the visitors struck twice in the first half to level the tie.

Lamine Yamal capitalised on a Clement Lenglet error to open the scoring in the fourth minute, finishing neatly past goalkeeper Juan Musso after Ferran Torres set him up.

Torres then made it 2-0 in the 24th, racing clear onto Dani Olmo’s pass and driving the ball into the top corner.

Atletico, rocked but not floored, found a lifeline in the 31st minute. Marcos Llorente burst down the right and drilled a low cross to the far post where Lookman outpaced his marker and fired inside the left post to restore the hosts’ aggregate lead.

Barcelona dominated possession after the break and had a third goal ruled out for offside against Torres as Pedri and Gavi controlled the midfield. Barca finished with 10 men after a last-man challenge brought a red card for defender Eric Garcia and “We’ve been dreaming big for a long time,” Musso told reporters.

“We wanted to get through this stage and we knew we could do it. We remain true to our dreams. It’s a close-knit and lovely group. We deserve great things. The team will give it their all.”

Agencies

Ousmane Dembele struck twice to confirm Paris St Germain’s place in the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Liverpool on Tuesday, sealing a 4-0 aggregate win in their quarter-final tie at a rain-soaked Anfield.

The holders soaked up sustained second-half pressure from Liverpool, who were roared on by a raucous home crowd, but built on the advantage they established in the first leg in Paris last week to book their fifth semi-final berth in seven seasons.

Dembele scored at Anfield for a second successive campaign when he latched onto a ball from Bradley Barcola in the 72nd minute and curled a shot into the bottom corner past Giorgi Mamardashvili from 20 yards out. He completed his double early in stoppage time, slotting home a cross from Barcola.

PSG will meet either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the next round.

Boos rang around Anfield in the second half after a penalty was overturned by VAR, initially awarded when Willian Pacho clattered into Alexis Mac Allister in the box.

The game, played in a torrential downpour, was overshadowed by a worrying first-half injury to Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike, who was carried off after going down unchallenged and pointing to his Achilles tendon, leaving the pitch in tears.

PSG dominated the first half, and Dembele’s brace came after he squandered a couple of earlier chances, including a close-range shot that he fired well over the bar and another that Mamardashvili, racing back toward his net, punched clear.

It was virtually all Liverpool early in the second half as Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo, Joe Gomez and Mac Allister all missed decent chances.

Milos Kerkez looked poised to score after latching onto a brilliant ball from Mohamed Salah, who was making his final Champions League appearance for the home side. But the Hungarian sent the ball wide.

Dembele’s first goal, against the run of play, all but settled the contest, stripping struggling Liverpool, who had previously crashed out of both the FA Cup and League Cup, of any realistic hope of overturning the tie and leaving PSG firmly in control for the remainder of the night.

Atletico Madrid reached their first Champions League semi-final in nine years on Tuesday, squeezing past Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate despite a nerve-racking 2-1 home defeat that had the Metropolitano crowd holding its breath until the final whistle.

Diego Simeone’s side thought they had done much of the heavy lifting with a 2-0 win at the Camp Nou in the first leg but that cushion was wiped out by an early Barca blitz as the visitors struck twice in the first half to level the tie.

Lamine Yamal capitalised on a Clement Lenglet error to open the scoring in the fourth minute, finishing neatly past goalkeeper Juan Musso after Ferran Torres set him up.

Torres then made it 2-0 in the 24th, racing clear onto Dani Olmo’s pass and driving the ball into the top corner.

Atletico, rocked but not floored, found a lifeline in the 31st minute. Marcos Llorente burst down the right and drilled a low cross to the far post where Lookman outpaced his marker and fired inside the left post to restore the hosts’ aggregate lead.

Barcelona dominated possession after the break and had a third goal ruled out for offside against Torres as Pedri and Gavi controlled the midfield. Barca finished with 10 men after a last-man challenge brought a red card for defender Eric Garcia and “We’ve been dreaming big for a long time,” Musso told reporters.

“We wanted to get through this stage and we knew we could do it. We remain true to our dreams. It’s a close-knit and lovely group. We deserve great things. The team will give it their all.”

Agencies