Borussia Dortmund rallied to defeat Atletico Madrid 4-2 in their quarter-final second leg on Tuesday, securing a 5-4 aggregate win and their first Champions League semi-final appearance since 2013.
Dortmund led 2-0 at halftime after trailing 2-1 in the first leg thanks to goals from Julian Brandt and Ian Maatsen.
Visiting coach Diego Simeone made three substitutions at halftime, including bringing in Angel Correa, and his enthusiasm was evident immediately, with Mats Hummels conceding a horrible own goal before the Argentine scored to put Atletico back ahead in the tie.
However, those goals sparked a sluggish Dortmund, with Niclas Fuellkrug and Marcel Sabitzer each netting in a three-minute span to propel the Bundesliga team through.
Former champions Dortmund, who are now fifth in the German top division and trying to qualify for next season’s Champions League, will meet Paris Saint-Germain in the final at Wembley on June 1.
The home side could have been level after three minutes, but Sabitzer took an extra touch with the goal in sight, allowing Atletico to cover.
Just seconds later, Atletico had a big chance of their own when Alvaro Morata raced through one-on-one with the goalie but chipped the ball wide of the post.
Dortmund pushed and prodded, boosted by an 80,000-strong home crowd looking to outdo last week’s atmosphere in the Spanish capital, with Karim Adeyemi firing straight at Jan Oblak.
Dortmund scored after 34 minutes, with Brandt receiving a Hummels chip and shooting on the spin, the ball bouncing past Oblak’s hands.
Just five minutes later, the home side took the lead, with Maatsen weaving in from an acute angle after being afforded space to run in the Atletico box.
With Simeone’s prospects of reaching the semi-finals for the fourth time as Atletico manager dwindling, he shuffled his deck at halftime, making three changes, including replacing the ineffectual Morata with Correa.
Dortmund’s wobbles reappeared, allowing the visitors back into the game.
Hummels turned Mario Hermoso’s header into his own net from an Atletico corner under little pressure, with goalkeeper Gregor Kobel on hand to save.
Atletico scented blood and could have equalized when Correa pulled the ball just wide.
The World Cup winner made amends for his blunder on 64 minutes by cutting through a penalty area filled with yellow shirts and slamming the ball in, putting Atletico ahead on aggregate.
The goal shocked Dortmund back into action, as Edin Terzic’s side struck twice in three minutes to regain the overall lead.
Fuellkrug headed in a Sabitzer cross, and the Austrian midfielder added his own goal, firing past the Atletico defence and into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, giving Dortmund a famous triumph.