Road to the final: Atlético

Group stage
18 September: Club Atlético de Madrid 3-1 FC Zenit
After a 45-month absence from the competition, during which time they won the UEFA Europa League twice, Atlético enjoyed a victorious return to the UEFA Champions League, Arda Turan and substitute Léo Baptistão securing the Rojiblancos the Group G points after Hulk had cancelled out Miranda's opener.

1 October: FC Porto 1-2 Club Atlético de Madrid
Having failed to defeat the Dragons in four previous tournament meetings, Atlético took leadership of the section by coming from a goal down to beat their bogey team. Arriving on the back of a superb weekend Liga win in the Madrid derby, Diego Simeone's side fell behind to Jackson Martínez's first-half header, yet recovered as captain Gabi teed up strikes for Diego Godín and Arda after the break.

22 October: FK Austria Wien 0-3 Club Atlético de Madrid
Diego Costa, back from suspension, registered twice on his European Cup debut. Raúl García had earlier set the Liga outfit en route to victory in their 250th UEFA fixture when he tapped in Filipe Luís's pass with eight minutes on the clock. "Diego Costa was unbelievable, he had an excellent game," said Simeone. "He scored two goals and showed how important he is for the team."

6 November: Club Atlético de Madrid 4-0 FK Austria Wien
The Colchoneros equalled their biggest UEFA Champions League triumph and in the process emulated FC Bayern München's feat of 24 hours before in qualifying for the round of 16 with two games to spare. Miranda, Raúl García and Filipe Luís were on target in the first period and Diego Costa made up for having a penalty saved with a fourth towards the end. "I'm happy with the work of the team, because we took our opportunity to reach the first knockout round today," said Simeone.

26 November: FC Zenit 1-1 Club Atlético de Madrid
The Russian club spoiled Atlético's 100% record in Group G. The hosts dominated play but a disappointing final ball let them down on numerous occasions. They went into arrears eight minutes after the interval when Adrián López counterattacked and finished neatly. With little over a quarter of an hour left, an own goal by Toby Alderweireld gave Zenit a share of the spoils.

11 December: Club Atlético de Madrid 2-0 FC Porto
If it was not already apparent, a sign that Atlético were a force to be reckoned with came when they won Group G by an imposing ten-point margin. Porto's qualification plans began to unravel when Raúl García span to find the net from an acute angle with the help of the crossbar. Jackson's subsequent penalty miss would prove costly for the visitors, the in-form Diego Costa racing through to net Atlético's second before half-time.

Thibaut Courtois excelled in Milan©Getty Images

Round of 16
19 February: AC Milan 0-1 Club Atlético de Madrid
With Clarence Seedorf making his coaching debut in a competition he won four times as a player, Milan were twice denied by the woodwork in the first period, Thibaut Courtois getting a crucial touch both times. Openings were harder to come by after the restart, though Atlético seldom looked like scoring until Diego Costa swooped seven minutes from time. "In the first half, our goalkeeper's performance was key," said Simeone.

11 March: Club Atlético de Madrid 4-1 AC Milan
Diego Costa's late first-leg header had put the Rojiblancos in a strong position and the Spain forward was quick off the mark in the return. Kaká's equaliser in a frenetic first half gave the Italian team hope, but Arda's deflected effort restored the hosts' cushion and second-half goals from Raúl García and Diego Costa completed an emphatic victory.

Quarter-finals
1 April: FC Barcelona 1-1 Club Atlético de Madrid
Atlético, in the last eight for the first time since 1997, belied the first-half loss of Diego Costa to injury; his replacement Diego fired the away side in front 11 minutes after the break with a thunderous angled shot. Seeking a seventh successive semi-final appearance, Barcelona continued probing, however, and Neymar's fourth UEFA Champions League goal levelled matters 19 minutes from time.

Koke scores against Barcelona©Getty Images

9 April: Club Atlético de Madrid 1-0 FC Barcelona
Atlético seized the initiative during a first period in which they hit the woodwork three times; from the first of those attempts, in the fifth minute, Koke volleyed in from close range after the ball had been retrieved. That proved enough for Simeone's men to book their first semi-final since 1973/74. "It was unbelievable to score so early at home, but I would like to highlight the work put in by all my team-mates, both in the first leg in Barcelona and, above all, here tonight," said Koke.

Semi-finals
22 April: Club Atlético de Madrid 0-0 Chelsea FC
A stoic display by a well-drilled Chelsea unit restricted Atlético's sights of goal. José Mourinho summed the contest up when he said: "Courtois hasn't had a difficult save to make, nor has [Mark] Schwarzer. It was a match for men: tough, tactical, obviously with more possession for Atlético." The Blues' display came at a cost, though – Petr Čech and captain John Terry suffered injuries while Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel collected bookings that ruled them out of the return.

30 April: Chelsea FC 1-3 Club Atlético de Madrid
Having fallen behind when their former pin-up Fernando Torres struck first, Simeone's troops fought back immediately with a crucial away goal from Adrián and then put the tie out of reach in the second half. Diego Costa's spot kick and Arda's strike gave Mourinho his fourth successive failure at this stage and Chelsea a fifth defeat in seven semi-finals since 2004.