Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp labelled Villarreal counterpart Unai Emery "king of the cup competitions" after the Reds set up a Champions League semi-final tie with the Spanish side.

Klopp's team played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Benfica to seal a 6-4 aggregate victory in their quarter-final tie on Wednesday, reaching the competition's final four for a joint-record 12th time amongst English clubs (level with Manchester United).

They will meet Villarreal in next round after Emery's men sealed an incredible 2-1 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich one day earlier, setting up their first Champions League semi-final appearance since the 2005-06 season after Samuel Chukwueze's late equaliser in Bavaria.

Speaking to DAZN in Germany after watching his much-changed side progress at Anfield, Klopp was wary of the threat posed by Villarreal in the next round, calling Emery the "king" of the cups and noting they deserved their spot in the last four after eliminating two top-class opponents.

"I think Villarreal definitely deserved to go through both rounds," he said. "Whoever kicks out Bayern and Juventus [a 4-1 aggregate win in the last-16] deserves to be in the semi-finals. 

"I know that Unai Emery is a bit of the king of cup competitions. It's incredible what he pulls off.

"They'll have a clear plan. And by the time we meet, we'll have one too."

Emery has earned a reputation as a cup specialist throughout his career, winning four Europa League titles with Sevilla (three) and Villarreal (one), as well as lifting seven trophies during his time with Paris Saint-Germain.

The former Arsenal boss will compete in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time later this month, advancing to this stage in his seventh season in the competition. 

Klopp, meanwhile, has reached the final four for the fourth time in his career, three of which have come with the Reds (the other with Borussia Dortmund). Only Sir Alex Ferguson has reached this stage more times (seven) as the manager of an English club.

Meanwhile, Liverpool's two meetings with Villarreal will take place either side of a Premier League trip to Newcastle on April 30, and Klopp made clear his frustration at having to face an early kick-off on Tyneside between the two legs. 

"I've just spoken to BT Sport [who will televise the Newcastle game] and pointed out to them again that this is a c**p kick-off time," Klopp added.

"We want to play all the games that are coming up, no problem at all. But it doesn't have to be that they let us play 12:30 on Saturdays and then see how it goes, for no reason. I will never understand that."

The 54-year-old did, however, acknowledge that Liverpool's congested fixture list was the result of an exceptional season to date, and was something to be embraced.

"It's the best end-of-season run you can have," he added. "Because we only play so many times because we get so far in the different competitions."

Liverpool remain in the hunt for a historic quadruple after overcoming Benfica, and face Premier League title rivals Manchester City for a place in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Baker Mayfield has said he feels "disrespected" by the Cleveland Browns, and insists he is "ready for the next step" in his career.

The number one draft pick from 2018 is under contract for 2022 at $18.9million – fully guaranteed – with Cleveland picking up his fifth-year option last year.

However, the Browns appeared to move on from Mayfield as their starter when trading a significant package of draft picks to the Houston Texans to acquire Deshaun Watson.

The franchise also picked up former Pittsburgh Steelers backup QB Josh Dobbs from free agency last week, leaving Mayfield's future in further doubt.

Speaking to the YNK podcast on Wednesday, Mayfield said: “I feel disrespected... I was told one thing and they completely did another."

Mayfield suggested that the Seattle Seahawks were "probably the most likely option" for him after they traded Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos, insisting: "I'm ready for the next chapter.

"I really, truly, honestly have no regrets of my time in Cleveland of what I tried to give to that place. True Clevelanders and true Browns fans know that."

Mayfield arrived in a Browns team that had gone 0-16 the year prior, improving them to 7-8-1 in his first campaign, and taking them to their first playoff victory in 26 years in his third.

However, a difficult 2021 season would follow, suffering a shoulder injury in Week 2 against the Houston Texans, before being booed during the home victory against the Detroit Lions in Week 11.

"I'd be lying to you if I didn't say that I got caught up in all the negativity and stuff during the year last year," he added. "I was trying to be tough and fight through [the injury], but then physically I wasn't as capable of doing what I would normally [do].

"When I wasn't performing on the field, that's when it really started to go downhill. Because I can tough it out, I don't care, I'm not going to complain about it, like everybody is banged up. But then when it started hindering my play and going downhill, that's when I was like, 'oh s***'.

"That's when I started losing my own self-confidence and losing myself. This past year was rough. It was. It was rough on me, my family. It sucked because I knew what I could be doing, but I physically wasn't in a state to do it."

Mayfield had just 17 passing touchdowns to his name (one rushing TD) in the 2021 campaign, his lowest during his four years in Cleveland, though he did end the season with a better pass completion percentage than in 2019 (60.5 to 59.4), as well as throwing fewer interceptions (13) than in either of his first two seasons (14 in 2018, 21 in 2019).  

"I know what I need to do for me to be the best version of me and be able to lead an organisation," he added. "I'm in a good place right now."

Darwin Nunez insisted his focus will remain on Benfica for the rest of this season after displaying his obvious potential in a Champions League quarter-final tie against Liverpool.

Along with Paris Saint-Germain, striker Darwin has been linked to a host of Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle United.

Two matches against Liverpool were therefore seen as something of an audition – one Darwin passed with flying colours.

The 22-year-old scored in both legs as Benfica were beaten 6-4 on aggregate, putting the ball in the net three times in Wednesday's second leg at Anfield, only for the offside flag to twice intervene.

The two goals that did stand took Darwin to 32 in 37 matches in all competitions this season, a significant leap after 14 in 44 last term, when Benfica failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Following the first leg, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp described the Uruguay international as "a really good boy", who "has a big career ahead of him".

Having netted again against Klopp's men, Darwin told CNN Portugal: "Benfica are a great team that can give much more. It's difficult to play here [at Anfield], not just anyone comes here to do what we did.

"We congratulate Liverpool and we'll go with our heads held high, that we've given everything.

"What the Liverpool coach said is a compliment, but my mind is on Benfica until the end of the season. I'm leaving everything for Benfica and for these fans, who are incredible.

"My job is to take advantage of this luck that is happening to me. Last year I didn't play at all, but this season has been incredible. The credit goes to my team-mates, too."

Darwin's 24 goals in Portugal's Primeira Liga have been scored once every 68 minutes on average, with ex-Benfica man Jonas the last player to net more in a campaign (34 in 2017-18).

But it is in the Champions League where Darwin has really caught the eye, hitting six goals against elite opposition in Liverpool, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Barcelona. No Benfica player has ever scored more in a single campaign.

Having had chances worth just 3.14 expected goals, his over-performance of 2.86 ranks fifth in the competition – behind Karim Benzema (5.54), Christopher Nkunku (3.17), Roberto Firmino (3.11) and Cristiano Ronaldo (3.07).

Among players with five or more goals, Darwin's shot conversion rate of 35.29 per cent also puts him fifth. Sebastien Haller (45.83), Firmino (45.45), Robert Lewandowski (41.94) and Nkunku (41.18) are all ahead of the Benfica sensation.

New Orleans Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum called Wednesday's play-in tournament win against the San Antonio Spurs "the start of something special".

McCollum has been the star of the Pelicans since arriving in a mid-season trade, and it was no different against the Spurs, netting a game-high 32 points to go with seven assists and six rebounds.

The former Lehigh University standout has been averaging 23.3 points and 6.0 assists since the All-Star break and helped propel the Pelicans into the play-in tournament despite starting the season 1-12 from their first 13 games.

Speaking with post-game media, McCollum said it feels like something great is brewing in New Orleans.

"This is the start of something special, for sure," he said. 

"You see the energy. Feel the energy. My mother is in town – I have some family in town – when we go out to eat, you can feel the city is excited about basketball, as they should [be]. 

"There's a lot of talent here. We're playing the game the right way. It's going to be a lot of winning in our future."

McCollum went on to talk about how seriously the Pelicans were taking this game with their season on the line.

"I understood the magnitude of this game," he said. 

"The Spurs are always going to go on a run at some point. They are well-coached. They execute. They have a lot of great players who can shoot and score. 

"When you get a chance to get up double digits, you have to put the pedal to the metal and try to be aggressive… I try to be more aggressive in the playoffs, try to get downhill a little bit more."

Pelicans head coach Willie Green had nothing but praise for his star shooting guard.

"We just got the ball to him, and he made play after play, score after score," he said. 

"The rest of the guys started to feed off C.J. – he's been in these moments, he's played on the big stage. 

"It's no coincidence that he goes out and has the game that he has."

Diego Simeone appeared to suggest he felt disrespected by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola at the end of an enthralling Champions League quarter-final tie.

There was only one goal across the two legs, scored by Kevin De Bruyne in the first match at the Etihad Stadium.

But Atletico pushed City all the way in a goalless draw at the Wanda Metropolitano, despite losing Felipe to his second red card of the campaign in a frantic finale.

The two teams registered just six shots on target over the whole tie – the fewest since four between Deportivo La Coruna and Porto in 2003-04 – yet City held firm, becoming only the fourth team since the introduction of the last 16 to keep a clean sheet in both legs of the first two knockout rounds.

While it was City's defensive strength that saw them through, Simeone seemingly took issue with Guardiola's assessment of Atletico's own largely conservative approach. Atletico had frustrated their opponents in Manchester while not attempting a single shot.

"I have no reason to give my opinion about what someone else says, good or bad," Simeone said after Wednesday's draw.

"Very intelligent people with a great vocabulary can, while using words of praise, show they despise you. But those of us who don't have the same vocabulary are not stupid."

Guardiola insisted he had not criticised Atletico, speculating whether the reporter who quizzed him on the topic had in fact been "one of those who said the time of Cholo Simeone was over".

"Don't tell me," the City boss replied. "I have always had good words of praise for this club and for this team. Cholo can play how he wants, obviously. I've said I appreciate it and you saw it here."

But Guardiola still focused on the difficulties of playing a team who approach the game like Atletico.

"They did what they do very well," he said. "It's been like this here before, it was like this tonight and it will be like this for goodness knows how long.

"They're a team that knows how to play this way like no one else in the world."

Simeone was certainly content with the way Atletico handled their task, if not the end result, while he refused to question City's apparent time-wasting – an issue that bristled with club captain Koke, who said the LaLiga champions would be accused of "anti-football" for following suit.

"I think that football has a lot of different dimensions and I'm not going to comment on how Manchester City behaved," Simeone said.

"It is you [the media] who are very capable, you see everything very clinically and obviously you always express an opinion, because football is full of opinions, but we keep ours to ourselves.

"I think playing against possibly the best team in the world and showing that we were able to compete very well doesn't leave me feeling okay, it doesn't leave me feeling happy at all, because the only thing that leaves me happy is winning.

"I feel f***ed, but it gives me the peace of mind that when I go to bed I will say that today my father, Luis Aragones and those who passed away in the pandemic will have seen from above their team continues to compete extremely well."

Despite Trae Young shooting three-for-13 from the field in the first half of the Atlanta Hawks' win against the Charlotte Hornets, head coach Nate McMillan loved what he saw from his superstar point guard.

With the 132-103 blowout win, the Hawks earned a chance to play against the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Eastern Conference eighth seed on Friday.

Young's shot was not falling early, but his team still put up 60 points in the first half as De'Andre Hunter, Clint Capela and Danilo Gallinari shouldered more of an offensive load.

Speaking to post-game media, McMillan said he was proud of the way Young navigated his early struggles before going on to finish with 24 points and 11 assists.

"I thought [Young] did a really solid job of getting off the ball when [the Pelicans] put two on him, and he got his teammates involved," he said.

"I thought later in the game they went away from that, and he was able to get loose and get some looks at the basket.

"But a real solid job by Trae running the team, managing those guys on the offensive end of the floor, and really getting us organized and attacking."

McMillan admitted his assistant coaches were imploring him to pull the Hawks stars late in the fourth quarter, with a big lead and the win almost assured, and looked forward to the matchup against the Cavs.

"The coaches were yelling at me, screaming at me to get the [starters] out, so that we could get them a rest in," he said. "But it's time to play – it's game time – and we should be ready when we go to Cleveland.

"We don't know if [Jarrett Allen] will be back on Friday – but the size-factor – they do a good job of taking advantage of their size, and their ability to pound you in the paint with post-ups, rebounding and a lot of length.

"[Darius] Garland is an All-Star, playing great basketball for them, so they're a really good team. We'll have our work cut out for us on Friday."

The Atlanta Hawks avoided elimination from the NBA Play-In Tournament on Wednesday, comfortably defeating the Charlotte Hornets 132-103, despite a poor shooting night from Trae Young.

The Hawks shot 52.1 per cent collectively even with Trae Young's eight-of-24 from the floor, with all five starters scoring in double-digits along with Bogdan Bogdanovic from the bench, who added 13 points.

Young started slow with three-of-13, matching LaMelo Ball for the first half, but was able to find his teammates early, particularly getting easy buckets for Clint Capela out of high pick-and-roll action.

Finishing with 31 assists for the night, the Hawks moved the ball fluidly in comparison to the Hornets, who could not generate clean looks on the way to 37.8 per cent shooting from the floor and 22 assists collectively.

Ball and Terry Rozier shot a combined 15-of-47, while the former went four-of-14 from three-point range despite eight assists and five rebounds.

Atlanta will now face the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the winner earning a Playoff matchup against the Eastern Conference's first seed, the Miami Heat.

McCollum leads Pelicans past Spurs

C.J. McCollum was the star of the show as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the San Antonio Spurs 113-103 to earn a chance at the Western Conference eighth seed.

McCollum was on fire early, particularly in the second quarter, where he went a perfect six-for-six from the field to score 19 points in the period, on his way to final figures of 32 points (12-of-23 shooting), seven assists and six rebounds.

He was supported in style by Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas, who combined for 49 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists, while rookie defensive sensation Herb Jones had two steals and two blocks.

Jones also did a great job on Spurs All-Star Dejounte Murray, holding him to five-of-19 shooting for his 16 points.

With the win, the Pelicans will play the Los Angeles Clippers in a game where the victor will earn a seven-game series against the Phoenix Suns in round one of the Playoffs.

Clayton Kershaw agreed with Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts' decision to pull the plug on his potential perfect game after seven innings.

There have only been 23 perfect games thrown in MLB history, and through seven innings in the Dodgers' 7-0 win against the Minnesota Twins, Kershaw had faced 21 batters and retired them all.

But he would be denied his chance at history when he did not return to the mound for the eighth inning, getting pulled to allow the bullpen to finish off the win.

Kershaw, 34, said there were a number of factors to blame for his withdrawal from the game, but not his manager's decision-making.

"Blame it on the lockout, blame it on me not picking up a baseball until January," he said. "My slider was horrible the last two innings. It didn’t have the bite – it was time.

"At the end of the day, those are individual things, those are selfish goals. We’re trying to win. That’s really all we’re here for. 

"As much as I would have wanted to do it, I’ve thrown 75 pitches in a [simulated] game. I hadn’t gone six innings, let alone seven. 

"Sure, I would have loved to do it, but maybe we get another chance. Who knows?"

Kershaw became only the second player to ever get pulled that late into a perfect game – with Roberts pulling the plug on the first instance too, with Rich Hill in 2016.

Speaking about his decision after the game, Roberts said it was a decision no manager likes to make, but he feels it was the correct call.

"I love the idea that we’re preventing runs in that particular game," he said. "It’s not a great spot as far as the decision, ultimately, that I have to make.

"But I think if I can look back and I feel it’s the best decision – in the best interest of the player’s health and for the ball club – looking out, then I feel good about it. 

"But those guys make it tough on me – but we have good players.

"[Kershaw is] pretty honest and understanding of where he was at, how he was feeling, what’s at stake – the win, the no-hitter, the potential health risk, all that stuff matters.

"There’s no right, 100 per cent answer, but in this case I felt it was very clear to me the right decision was."

Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium turned into the Vladimir Guerrero Jr show in the Toronto Blue Jays' 6-4 win against the New York Yankees.

Guerrero started the game off with a bang, opening the scoring with a home run in the first inning off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. 

It would be his first of three home runs on the night, slogging his second in the third inning, before his longest ball came in the eighth inning, traveling 443 feet.

Guerrero finished four-for-four with four RBIs, while star teammates Bo Bichette, George Springer and Matt Chapman all collected hits of their own.

After only being able to record one out in his first start, Blue Jays ace Jose Berrios found some form, striking out five batters in five innings while giving up three earned runs on six hits.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge shouldered no blame in the loss, going two-for-four with a home run.

Ramirez pays for himself

After signing a five-year, $124million extension in the pre-season, Jose Ramirez continued showing he is worth every penny, as he helped the Cleveland Guardians beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-3.

Ramirez had a home run, a double, a single and was hit by a pitch to get on-base in four of his five at-bats, while starting pitcher Triston McKenzie pitched four scoreless innings, striking out six and giving away no walks.

Meanwhile, rookie sensation Steven Kwan was walked with bases loaded to get the Guardians off the mark.

Torkelson's first tank

Top overall pick from the 2020 MLB Draft, Spencer Torkelson, hit his first career home run as his Detroit Tigers lost to the Boston Red Sox 9-7.

The game was in control of the Red Sox from the fourth inning when they piled on six runs with extra-base hits from Jackie Bradley Jr, Enrique Hernandez and Rafael Devers.

Torkelson's big moment came in the seventh inning with two outs, turning around a fastball to pull it over the left-field fence, going two-for-four in the game.

Jurgen Klopp took responsibility for a chaotic Liverpool defensive performance as they beat Benfica but insisted he could not be anything other than delighted with progress to a Champions League semi-final.

With an FA Cup last-four showdown against Manchester City on the horizon, the German made seven changes to a team looking to defending a 3-1 aggregate lead in Europe's premier cup competition.

A topsy-turvy game ensued, with the hosts coming through as 6-4 victors on aggregate following a thrilling 3-3 draw.

Klopp later blamed his changes for on occasionally ragged showing at the back, saying: "I made seven changes, the last line never played together like this, I decided that yesterday. 

"So we had 15-20 minutes to try and put it right. The majority of times they did really well, I liked the way we played football, the only problem was when we lost the ball our protection was obviously not perfect. 

"If you defend in a Champions League quarter-final it's about details. I didn't see the offside situations back, but it's part of defending to put the opponent offside. 

"Tonight that didn't work out too well we have to admit, but that is my fault because I changed seven times. 

"Benfica was still on fire and I respect that a lot. They scored really good goals, but it should not be as easy as it was tonight."

Klopp was more keen to focus on the positives overall, however, including a third Champions League semi-final appearance in five seasons.  

He added: "It is great, absolutely great. We never take something like this for granted. I am really, really happy. 

"I know we will talk about the game and the things that happened, the goals we conceded, but the day I am not over the moon about getting to a Champions League semi-final then something is really wrong and maybe it would be the right time to quit."

Next up for the Reds in this competition is a meeting with surprise package Villarreal, who stunned Bayern Munich to secure progress to the last four on Tuesday.

On the prospect of facing the Spaniards, Klopp said: "Tough, tough, tough. Both games they deserved to get through. 

"I didn’t analyse them because you watch the game and you try to figure out both teams. But [they have] real quality and Villarreal has probably the most successful cup competition manager in world football, so he knows what he is doing. 

"The team is really strong, two different approaches away and home, it's clear that they defended in Munich even more than they did in Villarreal. 

"It will be difficult, but it is semi-final of the Champions League, if it wouldn't be difficult then something would be really wrong."

Diego Simeone was satisfied his Atletico Madrid players gave "everything" they had as they exited the Champions League quarter-finals at the hands of Manchester City on Wednesday.

The LaLiga side put in a spirited second-half display at the Wanda Metropolitano, yet a goalless draw meant they suffered a 1-0 aggregate defeat.  

The tetchy match spilled over in the closing stages, with both sets of players clashing after Felipe's foul on Phil Foden – a challenge that saw the defender receive a second yellow card.

Simeone was also booked in stoppage-time after entering the pitch in an apparent attempt to calm down Stefan Savic, who was involved in running battles with City players throughout the game.

The ugly scenes continued in the tunnel after the game as videos circulated on social media showing the players being separated by police.

Simeone did not want to be drawn on the controversy, instead hailing the efforts of his side and the contribution made by the home crowd, who gave the players a rousing reception at full-time.

"The reaction at the end shows the pride of seeing a team that competes," he told Movistar. "It gives us the peace of mind that we have given everything to get through the tie.

"The crowd was enormous throughout the match. The team responded to what the people were looking for and that relationship is difficult to see in the stadiums, that people respect you after being eliminated.

"What is clear to me is that we are proud of who we are, of how we compete. We are out and it hurts, but I love seeing people celebrate when things go well and not so well."

Asked if his attempts to encourage the crowd to clap in the closing minutes was in response to City's perceived time-wasting, Simeone said: "No, please. I was applauding people because I was appreciating the effort the team was making. How can I not applaud people like that?"

The result means Atleti are now winless in their past eight home games in the Champions League.

However, goalkeeper Jan Oblak, who only had one save to make on Wednesday, believes Atleti did enough over the two legs to progress to the last four.  

"It's a shame," he said. "We made a great effort, a great match, we deserved more. We are disappointed, but we did everything we could to score and win the match.

"In the first game, they were better and in the second, we were better. If you put the two games together, we've had more chances. In the end, it wasn't enough to go through to the semis."

It is perhaps the thrilling attacking play of his teams that has led to the common misconception that Jurgen Klopp is something of a risk-taking manager.

Any recent Liverpool highlight reel is likely to show an adventurous brand of football that would support the idea that this group of players are instructed to simply throw numbers forward at any opportunity.

In truth, though, their manager has proven himself to be more conservative when it has come to making his biggest calls at Anfield.

As much was evident from the fact that his obvious first priority upon arriving at the club in 2015 was to implement a sound defensive structure.

It could also be seen in Klopp's unwavering preference for a settled line-up in the biggest competitions - occasionally to his detriment, as in the case of a Diogo Jota knee injury suffered in a dead rubber against Midtjylland last season. 

For these reasons, a team selection showing seven changes for this evening's quarter-final second leg against Benfica felt hugely significant.

It is not like the reigning Portuguese champions were completely out of the tie, with a 3-1 aggregate cushion hardly worthy of being described as comfortable.

What's more, Nelson Verissimo's men had caused plenty of problems for their opponents en route to conceding a late sucker-punch goal in Lisbon last week.

Perhaps the key takeaway from this surprise selection, though, was not that Klopp has suddenly elected to embrace risk in the latter stages of a season that promises so much. 

Rather, it is that the German no longer believes that making sweeping changes represents a risk at all.

The opening goal certainly supported that line of thought; back-up left-back Kostas Tsimikas crossing for third-choice centre-half Ibrahima Konate to head home.

Tsimikas also went on to provide another assist in the second half and ended the game with three key passes, 11 regains and having been involved in 14 duels (with a 71.4% success rate)

Konate, meanwhile, posted a match-high 94 passes, two tackles and five regains, ably supported by fellow fringe figures James Milner, Naby Keita and Joe Gomez.

And, while a late flurry from a Benfica side with nothing to lose made for exciting end to a six-goal game at Anfield, the hosts' laxness was clearly a direct result of their knowing the tie itself was never in doubt.

Of course, for all that the contributions from the wider squad and the chance to rest key men made the night a satisfying one overall for Klopp, it is worth noting that a similar level of rotation remains unlikely between now and May.

The aggregate advantage, Anfield crowd, and the fact that Liverpool had only lost at home by more than one goal in the knockout stages of this competition twice before all fed into an unfamiliar line-up being named.

With an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City next and neither the Premier League or Champions League likely to offer opportunities for major changes, this was probably Klopp's last chance to truly mix things up. 

However, this manager is far too experienced to believe that there won't be plenty of need for his back-ups in the weeks ahead. 

While it is now unlikely there will be any repeat of last season's injury nightmare, it would be optimistic in the extreme to expect no further issues at all.

The legginess resulting from this most gruelling of campaigns is sure to tell at some point, enhancing the importance of every substitution.

That Klopp now has a deeper trust in his alternative options suggests Liverpool are well-equipped to handle the challenges to come.

Manchester City sealed their place in the Champions League semi-finals after an ill-tempered 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid in their second-leg clash on Wednesday.

Kevin De Bruyne's solitary goal in the first leg last week gave Pep Guardiola's side a slender lead to take to the Wanda Metropolitano.

Diego Simeone's men put them under intense pressure in the second half, but City held firm before tempers flared late on and Felipe saw red.

That left the visitors to see out a 1-0 aggregate victory to reach back-to-back Champions League semi-finals for the first time in their history.

The Premier League leaders will now face Real Madrid in the last four after Carlo Ancelotti's charges overcame Chelsea on Tuesday.

The first clear sight of goal for either side came on the half-hour mark when Ilkay Gundogan struck the base of Jan Oblak's right-hand post from eight yards after being teed up by Phil Foden.

City, coming into the game on the back of a thrilling 2-2 draw with title rivals Liverpool, looked the more likely to score throughout the first half, yet they went in at the break having failed to hit the target with any of their eight shots.

The hosts were much improved at the start of the second period and Antoine Griezmann flashed a dipping effort past the post from the edge of the penalty area shortly before the hour. 

There was a melee after Felipe's late challenge on Foden in the closing stages, with both sets of players clashing near the corner flag.

The end result was a second yellow card for the Atleti defender as the home side's Champions League campaign ended on a sour note, with Simeone himself booked in stoppage time after stepping onto the pitch.