By Leipzig stunned Atletico Madrid 2-1 on Thursday to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time as Tyler Adams’ 88th-minute winner earned them a showdown with Paris Saint-Germain.
Atletico looked to have secured extra-time at the Estadio Jose Alvalade when Joao Felix won and then scored a penalty to cancel out Dani Olmo’s headed opener early in the second half.
But Adams proved an unlikely hero for Leipzig, coming off the bench to snatch victory in Lisbon after his fired effort took a cruel deflection off Stefan Savic and flew in.
The win marks a historic night for Leipzig, who were only formed 11 years ago and playing their first-ever season in Germany’s top flight in 2016.
Progress to the last four also puts another feather in the cap of their coach Julian Nagelsmann, whose stock will rise even further after ousting Diego Simeone, one of this competition’s most gnarly tacticians.
Their challenge is now to defeat PSG on Tuesday, the French champions who have only played three matches in almost half a year and needed a late escape to see off Atalanta on Tuesday.
For Atletico and Simeone, this was an opportunity spurned to go far in Europe at the end of what has been a disappointing season in Spain.
After Real Madrid’s loss against Manchester City, only Barcelona are left to fly the Spanish flag in this tournament and they face a formidable challenge against Bayern Munich on Friday.
