Borussia Dortmund reached their first Champions League semi-final in 11 years by 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 in 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.
Dortmund had not reached the last four of the Champions League since they finished runners-up in 2012-13.
This is just the fourth time the German club have advanced beyond the quarter-finals.
Their achievement is even more remarkable considering they were 2-0 down in the first leg in Madrid and had looked out of the picture at half-time.
Atletico conceded four goals in a Champions League knockout tie for the first time since losing 4-1 to rivals Real Madrid in the 2014 final. Diego Simeone’s side have now gone seven years without reaching the final four of Europe’s premier competition.
