3 takeaways from Atletico Madrid's dethroning of Barcelona

Adeu, Barcelona.

In the Champions League's quarter-finals Wednesday, Atletico Madrid threw it back to 2013-14, eliminating Barcelona from the competition with a 2-0 victory in the second leg and advancing to the semi-finals in heroic fashion with a 3-2 victory on aggregate. It was a deserved win for Diego Simeone's men despite the Blaugrana's justified appeal for a penalty kick at the end, and the club's supporters will be singing the praises of Antoine Griezmann, who scored both goals, well into the morning.

Here are three takeaways from a memorable night at the Vicente Calderon:

Atletico Madrid knows how to draw first blood against Barcelona

For a club whose style of play is defined by sitting back and patiently waiting to counter-attack, Atleti wastes zero time in delivering the first blow when Barcelona is its opposition. Griezmman's goal marked the fourth time in the last four encounters between the two clubs that Simeone's side was the one to open the scoring.

However, unlike the previous three meetings, Atleti successfully held on to its advantage and even expanded on it, denying Barcelona of a comeback that many of the Blaugrana's supporters have become accustomed to seeing.

It's convenient to suggest that Atleti is less reluctant to come storming out of the gate against Barcelona, but that was very much the case at the Vicente Calderon. Los Colchoneros entered the second leg down 2-1 on aggregate and needed to score. Their uncharacteristic sense of urgency and chasing of the ball suffocated the Blaugrana in the first half, resulting in the Catalan club failing to do much of anything in the final third.

Of course, upon taking the lead on away goals, Atleti went back to being Atleti, absorbing Barcelona's attack and firing counter-attacks for the remainder of the fixture.

It came as no surprise when Atleti put the tie away by virtue of a penalty kick that was the result of a well-executed counterattack.

Antoine Griezmann is writing history at Atleti

Believe it or not, but Griezmann is only the second player from Atleti to have scored more than five goals in a Champions League campaign. The other? Diego Costa in 2013-14.

Atleti's presence in the Champions League is nothing new. Los Colchoneros have been a staple of the competition's knockout phase in recent years and, despite having never tasted European glory, boast a long history in continental tournaments, highlighted by its conquest of the 1961-62 Cup Winners Cup.

That being said, even by the standards of a club with a proud history and where the likes of Fernando Torres, Sergio Aguero, Radamel Falcao, and Costa have taken the pitch, Griezmann's goal-scoring exploits are nothing short of sensational. He holds 10 goals to his name in his last 10 appearances and, more notably, 29 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions, a mark that Torres nor Aguero ever hit at the Vicente Calderon.

For a club renowned for its impenetrable defence and chemistry, Griezmann deserves praise for what he's doing in front of the net.

Barcelona's average run of form couldn't have come at a worse time

Normally, when Barcelona becomes tangled in mediocrity, the Blaugrana is still strong enough to emerge victorious. And even on its off days, it's usually only a matter of time before the Catalan club is back to dazzling audiences across the planet.

Something is noticeably different about Barcelona's ordinary run of form this time around, however. Its defeat to Atleti marked its third loss in four games, a stretch that includes being overcome by Real Madrid, its eternal rival, in the most recent edition of El Clasico, a shocking result that opened up the title race in La Liga, and, now, elimination from the Champions League.

Messi hasn't scored in 452 minutes, a drought that would have been unheard of while his team went unbeaten through 37 fixtures in all competitions, and even the assists have dried up for the Argentinian phenom.