Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona: Score, Reaction from 2016 Champions League, Leg 2

Barcelona tumbled out of the Champions League on Wednesday evening after an Antoine Griezmann brace guided Atletico Madrid to a 2-0 win on the night. The Madrid giants triumphed, 3-2, on aggregate.

Lionel Messi was once again prevented from collecting his 500th career goal, and the expertly drilled Atletico kept the other members of the MSN strike force, Luis Suarez and Neymar, relatively quiet. 

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The defending Champions League title holders travelled to Spain's capital after coming from a goal behind to win the first leg, 2-1, but Atleti scorer Fernando Torres sat out the return leg following his red card in that clash.

After a sensational first-half opener, it wasn't until the 88th minute that a Griezmann penalty helped put the result beyond doubt, but Spanish daily AS told the story that Barca were unlucky not to get a spot-kick of their own:

Los Rojiblancos made a fast and furious start to proceedings, and the home fans recognised their players' endeavour by sending the Vicente Calderon into raptures as they pushed for an aggregate equaliser.

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan attested to the hosts' show of initiative, and manager Diego Simeone appeared eager to turn the first leg's 2-1 deficit around:

Barcelona did well to take the hosts' initial energy away after the opening 15 minutes, and Simeone's side did simmer as the visiting party started to churn more possession in their favour.

Atleti proved themselves capable of dealing without long spells of the ball, though, and it was on the 36-minute mark that a sumptuous cross from Saul Niguez set Griezmann up for the opener, via BT Sport:

Marc-Andre ter Stegen may feel there might have been something he could have done to get to the ball sooner, but there wasn't much one could take away from the Atletico pair who carved out the finish to level the aggregate at 2-2.

And an essential first goal it was, too, considering the Madrid giants were set to go through, as the scores stood, by virtue of the away goals netted at the Camp Nou last Tuesday.

While Barcelona's holy trinity of Messi, Neymar and Suarez has made them the most offensively imposing team in Europe during recent seasons, Atleti showed their trademark defensive traits as the game progressed.

Overloaded numbers in their own half and some stellar performances from the likes of Gabi and Augusto Fernandez kept the visitors at bay. At the break, BT Sport pundit Paul Scholes said he struggled to see how the Blaugrana would break the hosts down:

Saul even came close to etching his own name onto the scoresheet early in the second half, but his header from a corner could only rattle Ter Stegen's post, sending another warning shot to the reigning champions.

Barca saw the greater bulk of attacking chances in the second half and controlled more than two-thirds of possession, per WhoScored.com. But a Luis Filipe break forced Andres Iniesta to handle the ball inside his box and give away a late penalty, which Griezmann duly converted.

Barca had calls for a late penalty of their own when Gabi's flailing arm appeared to handle the ball in the area, but referee Nicola Rizzoli adjudged it to have fallen outside the area.

It's been almost two seasons since Atletico lost out to local rivals Real Madrid in the 2013-14 Champions League final, but Simeone's men have now dethroned likely the toughest Spanish opponent they could hope to meet.

With Barca's hopes of a treble ended, the club will now look to the domestic battleground as they hope to still end this campaign on a resounding high, while Atletico take the European route.

Post-Match Reaction

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Humble in victory, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique was equally as grounded in defeat and told the media Atletico were "better than us" after the result, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan.

Enrique went on to say it was "very unfair to point to individuals" when quizzed on Messi's quiet performance and how he might be looked to for blame, adding Barca could still produce a double this season:

Relating to questions of blame, Enrique also elaborated on exactly how much of the burden he accounts for, stopping just short of completely:

While many will talk of Barcelona's underperformance, it's worth highlighting Atletico were every bit worthy of their win, albeit through gritty and less glamorous means.

Simeone's side may not operate with the same sheen and shimmer as their Wednesday opponents on a regular basis, but it gets results all the same, and that's all that will matter to them.