Borussia Dortmund recovered from a 2-1 first-leg deficit and being behind in their quarter-final tie with 20 minutes remaining to reach the Uefa Champions League semi-finals at the expense of Atletico Madrid.
First-half strikes from Julian Brandt and Ian Maatsen put the hosts ahead on aggregate six minutes from the break.
Mats Hummels’ own-goal restored parity for Atleti and Angel Correa put them ahead again after 64 minutes following a goalmouth scramble.
Niclas Fullkrug then levelled the tie with a header and, three minutes later, Marcel Sabitzer scored to send Edin Terzic’s players through.
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With the Champions League looking like the only silverware they would be playing for this season even before the group stage had ended, Dortmund are something of an enigma in this season’s competition.
Atleti have a sensational home record in Europe, so Sebastien Haller’s late goal to ensure Dortmund only lost by a goal in Madrid instantly felt important in the balance of the tie.
Visiting manager Diego Simeone made a triple substitution at half-time and his changes had the desired effect, the Liga side re-establishing an aggregate lead within 20 minutes of the restart.
With the momentum appearing to have conclusively changed, Dortmund showed immense resolve to keep their season alive in style.
Borussia Dortmund are Champions League semi-final bound for the first time in eleven years 🏆💪
𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐂.#UCL pic.twitter.com/cVTsDJPDof
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 16, 2024
Dortmund last went this far in the Champions League under Jurgen Klopp in 2012/13, losing to Bayern Munich in the final.
They will be outsiders against Paris St-Germain in the final four but have far fewer expectations upon their shoulders and a score to settle with the Ligue 1 leaders.
PSG beat BVB 2-0 in the group stage in September before the sides shared a 1-1 draw in Germany three months later.
Terzic faced pressure during an underwhelming first half of the campaign. Reaching the final would be some riposte to his critics.
