Atletico Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, surviving a late onslaught from the visitors. First-half goals from Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino gave Diego Simeone’s side a commanding lead, but Sebastian Haller pulled one back to give Germany Get a foothold in the competition before returning to Dortmund next week. Terzig said his side, fifth in the Bundesliga table, had been “very nervous” in the first half but they improved, hitting the woodwork twice in the final stages of the game against the Islamic State (IS) group. The threat was followed by heightened security measures against the stadium being used for the quarter-final tie.

Atletico Madrid have flown out of the trap, eager to seize the golden opportunity of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 2017.

“We took a small step and we want to win at home,” De Paul told Movistar.

“We are strong here, the fans give us motivation and these nights are unbelievable – you never know if they will be repeated and the fact is I’m delighted.

“I always see it as a positive when you win because if you don’t, you never enjoy anything.”

Despite the lack of an equalizer, Dortmund captain Emre Can said his team were satisfied with the result.

“On a night like this, people can also lose… In the duel, they completely overwhelmed us at some stages,” Can told DAZN.

“So, we’ll win 2-1 and everything will be open next week.”

Dortmund were unable to cope with Rojiblancos’ high press in the early stages and De Paul put the home side ahead in the fifth minute after Ian Maatsen passed the ball over.

Goalkeeper Gregor Kerber passed the ball to the on-loan Chelsea defender, who panicked under pressure and delivered a loose pass that DePaul gleefully intercepted before slotting it into the back of the net. .

In Simeone’s 12 years at the helm, Atletico have not lost a home game in the knockout stages of the Champions League and continue to charge forward confidently at the Metropolitano.

Kerber took on a brilliant back-heel flick from former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel, a key piece of Atletico’s backline ahead of his move to 2022.

Atletico had a great first half, with the only negative being a yellow card for Lino, which ruled him out of the second leg.

Minutes later, the Brazilian doubled his team’s lead after another defensive error in Dortmund.

Mats Hummels, making his 500th appearance for Borussia Dortmund, headed the ball into the path of Alvaro Morata, who combined with Antoine Griezmann to pass to Lino, who Low shot past Kerber.

At halftime, Terzic replaced Felix Nmecha with Julian Brandt, looking for more attacking spark.

“Leave the door open”

With top scorer Donyel Malen missing through illness, the Bundesliga side struggled to find a way past Oblak, who saved from Niklas Verkrug at the start of the second half.

On-loan United winger Jadon Sancho began to step in for Dortmund, who pulled a goal back in the 81st minute, but not before Cobert made a stunning save to deny Lino’s second goal.

Nahuel Molina made an error in his clearance and the ball fell to tall forward Haller, who fired the ball past Oblak.

Atletico managed to hold on despite the visitors finding their footing, while Dortmund suffered their first away defeat in four months.

England winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens’ long-range shot hit Cesar Azpilicueta’s head and hit the crossbar, before Brandt hit the ball against the woodwork in a frantic finale .

Simeone celebrated his 50th Champions League win as coach, becoming the ninth man to achieve the feat.

Simeone and Atletico have yet to conquer the Champions League, but this victory is a shaky step towards the semi-finals.

However, Dortmund’s performance in the second half suggested that this would not be a walk in the park.

“We were very nervous and conceded two goals easily, and then we managed to turn the game around,” Terzic said.

“I told them to calm down – we didn’t draw but now we have a result that leaves the door open.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)