Real Madrid advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday by beating crosstown rival … [+]
Real Madrid advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday by beating crosstown rival Atletico Madrid in a dramatic last 16 second leg penalty shootout.
Los Blancos, who are the defending champions in the competition, went into the tie at the Metropolitano 2-1 up after winning by that margin in the first leg at the Bernabeu.
In the tie’s second installment, hosts Atleti went 1-0 up in just over 30 seconds after Conor Gallagher terminated a move that went through two sets of Real Madrid legs on its way to the penalty area.
A tense 119 minutes followed, without including stoppage time, and Vinicius Jr. missed a penalty won by Kylian Mbappe in the second half by skying his effort and sending it into the stands.
The match seemed destined to be decided from 12 yards out, though, with Madrid eventually prevailing 4-2 in a dramatic shootout.
After Julian Alvarez and Marcos Llorente both missed their penalties, and Lucas Vazquez did the same for Madrid, Toni Rudiger slotted home the winning kick which Atleti ‘keeper Jan Oblak almost kept out.
While Llorente hit the bar, though, Alvarez scored in a sense but his goal was overturned by VAR which judged the Argentine to have done a double touch when slipping and kicking his attempt.
As is to be expected, the incident has caused controversy and is already being widely discussed on social media.
Madrid will now face Arsenal in the UCL quarterfinals, while Atleti must try and dust itself off and focus on La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
On Sunday, Atleti hosts leader FC Barcelona in the league with the Catalans a single point in front of Diego Simeone’s men yet equal with second-place Madrid.
Atleti is also tied 4-4 in the Copa del Rey semifinals with Barca, who it faces once more on April 2 in the second leg after drawing by the mentioned scoreline in Montjuic last month.
Madrid is back in La Liga action on Saturday when it travels to Villarreal, and can even return to the top of the table with a three-point lead through a victory.
That would then put pressure on Barca, to deliver against an Atleti outfit it has failed to beat in two attempts this term and lost 2-1 to in the league in December.
