Arsenal and Red Bull Salzburg ousted in semifinal second-leg thrillers
Atletico Madrid and Marseille advanced to the UEFA Europa League Final Thursday evening.
The Spanish side defeated Arsenal 1-0 at home in the semifinal second leg and 2-1 on aggregate to book a ticket to their fifth major UEFA club competition final since 2010.
Spanish striker Diego Costa fired a game winning shot on his striking partner Antoine Griezmann's pass just before the first half ended.
Atletico Madrid have not conceded a goal at home since January -- 12 games in total.
For outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, the loss marked the final European game with his club.
In the other semifinal second-leg match, Red Bull Salzburg came close to eliminating Marseille at home but failed as the 116th minute goal in extra time was enough for the French team to advance.
Being down 2-0 in the first match, Salzburg came out firing as Amadou Haidara's great solo effort gave the Austrian team the lead in the 53rd minute.
Just 12 minutes later, Salzburg found another goal to increase their lead to 2-0 and equalized the tie at 2-2 on aggregate.
Regular time finished at 2-2. But in extra time, Marseille defender Rolando's header with five minutes to go gave the French team the upper hand.
The UEFA Europa League Final will be played between Atletico Madrid and Marseille on May 16 in Lyon.
