Atletico Madrid players celebrate qualifying for the final after the UEFA Champions League semi-final, second-leg football match against Bayern Munich.
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Pep Guardiola insists he has given his “life” to Bayern Munich after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid.
Fernando Torres then missed a wonderful opportunity to give Atletico some breathing space from the penalty spot as Manuel Neuer saved the forward’s effort.
Bayern won 2-1 on aggregate in Bavaria but Antoine Griezmann’s strike for the Spanish side took them through to the final on the away goals rule after they won the first leg 1-0.
Atletico will face either city rivals Real Madrid, who beat them in the 2014 final, or Manchester City, who meet in the second semi-final on Wednesday.
There was similar drama in the second half when Manuel Neuer saved Fernando Torres’ late penalty attempt for Atletico.
Atletico levelled through Frenchman Antoine Griezmann’s seventh goal of this season’s competition in the 54th, meaning Bayern would need at least two more goals to progress.
“They were better, but we scored an away goal, which was important”, said Griezmann.
You can visit the Bayern Munich online ticket shop here.
Atletico Madrid will now await result between Manchester City and Real Madrid to know their opponent in the final.
Simeone replaced Augusto Fernandez with Yannick Carrasco at the break and moved Griezmann out wide, and the tactical switch paid dividends as the visitors struck nine minutes into the second period from their first clear chance of the game.
Robert Lewandowski set up a dramatic finale with his 74th minute goal but it was not enough.
‘But overall I am proud of what is happening to this club. That was all. We played the game we wanted, did it well but it was not enough.
“We are lucky in that we have four good defenders available to us”, the Atletico coach said, as he will have to choose between Godin, Lucas Hernandez, Stefan Savic and Jose Gimenez also bidding for a starting berth.
But that wouldn’t make any difference as Jan Oblak made several smart saves to ensure that his side advance to the final on away goal advantage.
There can be nowhere more demanding to work than Munich, where even winning a hat-trick of domestic titles is dismissed as a failure if not accompanied by Champions League glory.
“The first half saw a tremendous Bayern team with pressure, possession and us showing little response to the situation”, said coach Simeone.
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He added that the spirit of his team-mates has fuelled Atleti’s success in the Champions League this season.
