United States international Tyler Adams scored an 88th-minute winner to help RB Leipzig beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 and advance to the Champions League semifinals on Thursday.
The dramatic late win marks the first time the Bundesliga club has reached the last four of the competition and sets up a clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday for a spot in the final.
With two minutes of normal time remaining, Adams snatched victory with a deflected shot from outside the box to set up the semifinal clash with the Parisians.
“It’s all a bit surreal,” Adams said after the match. “And now obviously facing such a world class team like PSG, we’re excited to show what we’re capable of. We’re confident in our abilities, but we need to go out there and continue to show what we are capable of.
“I think with such a young team we’re not really fazed in these moments, we just go out there and execute the game plan. What we were able to do tonight with different players in different positions on the field, it was really special.”
The German side had taken the lead in the 51st minute with a header from Spanish forward Dani Olmo but a disjointed Atletico were shaken into life when record signing Joao Felix came off the bench, earning and scoring a penalty to level in the 71st.
Atletico, runners-up in 2014 and 2016, looked more likely to score the next goal but it was the club founded only eleven years ago who were left celebrating in front of the empty seats of the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Now the team, built up from the lower leagues and owned by energy drinks company Red Bull, will come up against Neymar and company with a chance at a place in the Aug. 23 final.
As with all games in this ‘final eight’ mini-tournament, there were no fans to witness the drama but it was clear from the outset that Leipzig felt at home among European football’s elite.
They fired an early warning shot when Marcel Halstenberg was picked out at the back post but his difficult volley flew off target.
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