RB Leipzig fight off Atletico Madrid to reach Champions League semis

RB Leipzig reached the Champions League semifinals for the first time in club history with a scrappy 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Thursday.

Tyler Adams' deflected effort in the 88th minute gave Leipzig the lead for good in a game of fine margins. Joao Felix came off the bench and reinvigorated Atletico with a well-taken penalty, but Leipzig pushed until they found the winner.

Julian Nagelsmann's side will now face Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

Leipzig never played in the Champions League knockout stage before this season, but they continued to show they belong. Even without Timo Werner - who ditched the German club to join Chelsea at the earliest moment - Leipzig looked positive up front, stringing passes together in quick succession and working as a team.

January signing Dani Olmo breached Atletico's backline in the 51st minute with a header from close range, capping an 18-pass sequence that involved all of Leipzig's outfield players.

In a rare move, Diego Simeone, Atletico's ultra-defensive manager, made an attacking change. Felix replaced midfield grinder Hector Herrera and immediately injected life into the game, running at defenders and eventually winning and converting a penalty to give Atletico life.

The equalizer only seemed to embolden Leipzig, who made one-touch passes with alarming ease and regularity. Not to be outdone, Nagelsmann threw on Adams to change the dynamic of the game, and the 20-year-old obliged with the biggest goal of his career. Leipzig left-back Angelino found Adams in open space on the edge of the area, and the American international's strike hit Stefan Savic on the way in.

Thursday's victory is easily one of the biggest in Leipzig's short history. Formed 11 years ago by energy drink manufacturer Red Bull, the club rose from the fourth division to establish itself in the Bundesliga. Now, it's holding its own against some of Europe's heavyweights. Leipzig topped Group G with 11 points and shut out Tottenham 4-0 on aggregate before taking down Atletico.