Champions League: Atletico Madrid suffers shock exit courtesy of Leipzig

RB Leipzig defeated Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the final eight of the UEFA Champions League at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon on Thursday, to reach their first-ever semi-final in the European competition. They achieved the feat within just 11 years since their formation.

Atletico displayed poor football during the first half. The German side went 1-0 ahead in the 50th minute, courtesy of Dani Olmo's goal. Atletico substitute Joao Felix levelled the scorecard from the penalty spot in the 71st minute after he was fouled inside the box.

The Spanish side's excessively defensive approach was punished when RB Leipzig's Tyler Adams scored the second for his team in the 88th minute. Now, they will face Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.

Atletico Madrid had played two Champions League finals in the last six years, but they just weren't good enough to proceed to the last four this time. RB Leipzig possessed the ball 58% of the time, which shows how competent the German side was. Atletico seemed too complacent and didn't produce many attacks during much of the game.

Earlier in the summer, Leipzig had lost the focal point of their attack as Timo Werner moved to Chelsea in a £54 million transfer.

Before joining the Blues, Werner had scored 34 goals for his former club this season alone. In contrast, the rest of the players included in the starting XI for Thursday's quarter-final scored 44 goals combined. But the absence of the 24-year old didn't harm the German side during their final-eight encounter.

Thursday's game registered many milestones. According to the BBC, RB Leipzig became the first German side other than Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund to reach the last four of the Champions League since Schalke in 2010-11. Also, this marked the first time that Atletico Madrid failed to win against any German side in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

On Friday, FC Barcelona will face Bayern Munich in another quarterfinal. Quique Setien will be eager to prove a point. Under his leadership, Barca already lost the Spanish crown to Real Madrid last month.

Questions have been raised about Setien's abilities to handle the Catalan side. If he could inspire his team to produce some stunning performances in the Champions League, he will be the most relieved person in Camp Nou ahead of the start of the 2020-21 football season.