Familiar Atlético heartache as Real book Arsenal date after bizarre Alvarez penalty decision
END TO END: Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, center, drives the ball past Atletico Madrid's Clement Lenglet, left, before being fouled during the Champions League round of 16, second leg, soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Real Madrid beat local rivals Atlético Madrid 4-2 on penalties to progress to the quarter-finals of the 24/25 Champions League, lining up a clash with North London side Arsenal.
If the agony was all-too familiar for Diego Simeone's side, who have now exited this competition at the hands of their cross-town nemeses for the fifth time in 11 years, the nature of it was new. A penalty shoot-out which bordered on the absurd and saw Julian Alvarez's successful kick be startlingly ruled a miss after VAR spotted an apparent double-strike was decided when Toni Rudiger's effort somehow squeezed past Atletico captain Jan Oblak.
In a storied modern chapter to their rivalry this was another night and tie which could take up plenty more pages.
Conor Gallagher scored within 30 seconds to level up the tie, though it was not enough as a repeat of the 2016 UCL final saw Atletico crash out of the competition on penalties to Real Madrid once more.
Atlético wasted no time in getting off the mark, with Gallagher stunning the Metropolitano and breaking the deadlock within 27 seconds of kick-off. Following the Englishman winning the ball back in the midfield, a lovely team move resulted in Rodrigo De Paul able to fire a low cross across the Real Madrid box. A beautiful dummy from Antoinne Griezmann left Los Blancos’ defence nowhere to be seen and Gallagher emphatically slid the ball into the Real goal to level up the tie.
Officially marked the fastest goal in the Champions League this season, Real Madrid saw all their hard work to bring a one-goal advantage to the home of their noisy neighbours undone within a matter of moments. While the opening ten minutes afforded the majority of possession to the visitors, every Atlético action was met with a stronger reaction from the invigorated Metropolitano.
A spell of half-chances fell to Real who had no luck in dealing an early blow of their own to the home side, and Los Rojiblancos were playing with an air of confidence and composure that only such an early goal would have given them. It seemed as though if one side were to score next and take control of the tie, the scoreline certainly would have read two goals in favour of Diego Simeone’s side.
A number of chances fell to the home side during the remainder of the first period, with some excellent saves from Thibaut Courtois being the only reason Atleti did not see their lead doubled before the half-time break. The Metropolitano broke out into song in the final moments of the first half, serenading the side that has come so close to winning this competition in years past, dreaming of a chance to finally avenge the heartbreak inflicted by Los Blancos in the Champions League finals of 2014 and 2016.
Atlético began the second period as they ended the first, taking the fight to the visitors and once again seeming the more likely side to take the lead and control of the tie. A free-kick from just outside the Real box proved the first real chance of the second period, with an excellent delivery seeing the ball headed inches wide of Courtois' goal.
Little action followed in the opening 20 minutes of the second period, with it becoming clear a moment of magic was necessary to break the aggregate deadlock. Carlo Ancelotti would have thought such a moment would have been the penalty that followed Kylian Mbappé being brought down by Clément Lenglet in the Atlético box following a superb showcase of skill with the ball at his feet.
Vinicius Jr stepped up to the spot in the 70th minute, with the hopes to restore Real’s one-goal advantage and make an impact in a tie which had seen him uncharacteristically quiet until that moment. Much to his and the travelling fans disappointment, Vinicius’ penalty flew over the crossbar and into the stands.
The closing moments of the encounter saw it become one of an end-to-end nature; while both sides certainly believed they had a chance to score the winner, an element of reluctance to risk conceding was understandably greater, with neither outfit wanting to be sent home by their local rivals in the closing minutes of such a closely contested encounter.
The home side, spurred on by the entirety of the Metropolitano, found themselves in the more potentially dangerous avenues in the closing moments, though a sense of final product neglected them.
The referee’s whistle brought an end to normal time, and with Conor Gallagher’s early-goal being the only thing to separate the two sides, another 30 minutes of football was required to decide who will meet North London side Arsenal in the quarter-finals of this season's Champions League.
Ancelotti’s side began the period on the front-foot, trying to find the winning goal to avoid a penalty shootout, a prospect which seemed much more favourable to the home side willed on by the some 65,000 Atleti fans inside the Metropolitano. The end-to-end nature of the contest continued, but a tale of spurned chances unfolded in the second period of extra-time, with neither side able to break the deadlock that had kept the aggregate score level since the first minute.
The referee’s final whistle signalled the end of extra-time, confirming a repeat of every Atleti fan’s worst nightmare: a penalty shootout versus Real Madrid in the Champions League. Real Madrid beat Atlético 5-3 on penalties to win the 2016 Champions League final, a moment which has lived long in the mind of every Madrileño, though for differing reasons indeed.
A nightmare repeated. Following a Marcos Llorente miss and Alvarez’s penalty inexplicably disallowed, Rudiger stepped up to score Madrid’s fifth and final spot-kick.
Nine years on from the heartbreak of 2016 this was a wound re-inflicted by the same familiar foe. Death, taxes, and Real Madrid finding a way to win in the Champions League.
Oblak 7, Giménez 7, Llorente 6, Lenglet 4 (Le Normand 90) , Reinildo 7 (Azpilicueta 98), Gallagher 8 (Lino 85), De Paul 6 (Molina 90+4), Barrios 6, Giuliano 6 (Correa 89), Griezmann 6 (Sorloth 89) , Alvarez 5
Courtois 8, Valverde 7 , Asencio 7 , Rüdiger 7 , Mendy 6 (Garcia 83), Tchouameni 7 (Camavinga 65), Modric 8 (Vazquez 65), Bellingham 6, Rodrygo 6 (Diaz 79), Mbappé 6, Vinicius Jr. 4
Szymon Marciniak 8
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
