Atletico Madrid booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals for a fourth consecutive season but had goalkeeper Jan Oblak to thank for avoiding defeat in a 0-0 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
Oblak produced a remarkable triple save midway through the second half as Atletico held on to their 4-2 first-leg advantage to take their place in Friday’s draw for the last eight.
“It is not easy to be in the quarter-finals four years in a row,” Oblak told BeIN Sports Spain.
“I hope Atletico will continue like this, keep growing like in the last few years and I am sure we can achieve great things.”
On a night of few Atletico chances, the home fans didn’t even get to cheer the return of hero Fernando Torres.
Two weeks on from being knocked unconscious in a sickening head clash Atletico boss Diego Simeone left Torres on the bench for the full 90 minutes.
“There is always a feeling of enthusiasm, passion, the Champions League is always special,” said Simeone, who has led Atletico to the final in two of the past three seasons.
“Evidently, this is a very important step for the club.”
New Leverkusen boss Tayfun Korkut was taking charge of his first Champions League game after Roger Schmidt was sacked when Leverkusen’s first-leg defeat was followed by a 6-2 thrashing at Borussia Dortmund.
Korkut summoned a much-improved performance from the Germans as they forced Atletico onto the back foot for long spells.
