By Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez had a penalty dramatically ruled out in the shootout. Real Madrid edged out their city rivals to reach the quarter-finals.
They will face Arsenal in the last eight. They have kept alive their hopes of winning a record-extending 16th Champions League trophy.
Neither side could find a winning goal before the end of extra time. Conor Gallagher’s strike, just 27 seconds into the game, had levelled the tie on aggregate. This came after Real’s 2-1 first-leg win.
Penalties were needed to determine the outcome. After the first three had been converted, former Manchester City forward Alvarez stepped up. He took Atletico’s second.
He slipped while taking it, but the ball ended up in the back of the net. The successful spot-kick was initially given. However, it was subsequently ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR). They determined that Alvarez had touched the ball twice as he struck his effort.
Fede Valverde converted his penalty to put Real 3-1 ahead. Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved Lucas Vazquez’s spot-kick and briefly gave Atletico hope. However, Marcos Llorente hit the bar.
Antonio Rudiger then stepped up to squeeze home the decisive penalty to send Real through by a 4-2 margin.
Frustration for Atletico but Real march on
The outcome will be bitterly disappointing for Atletico. They had produced a brilliant defensive display for the majority of the match. This limited Real to few chances.
They had a dream start. England international Gallagher scored after a rapid Atletico attack down the right. He made history as the first Englishman to score in a Madrid derby.
Real could barely fashion a chance after that against a well-organised and disciplined home side. The home side had not lost a knockout tie at home since Ajax beat them in 1997.
At the other end, the lively Alvarez was denied three times by Thibaut Courtois.
Frenchman Kylian Mbappe had been kept largely quiet. However, when he got free of his markers, he burst through. He won a penalty as Clement Lenglet brought him down inside the box.
Vinicius Jr had scored all of his previous seven penalties for Real. He stepped up with the chance to put Real ahead in the tie once again, with 20 minutes to go. However, the Brazilian smashed his effort well over the bar.
There was nothing to separate the sides after that in a tense derby. Real beat Atletico in the 2014 and 2016 finals. They maintained their 100% record against their fierce rivals in penalty shootouts to progress.
