Real Madrid booked their spot in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals the hard way on Wednesday, beating Atletico Madrid 4-2 in a penalty shootout after the aggregate score was tied at 2-2.
The hosts took a lead within the first 30 seconds courtesy of Conor Gallagher, who leveled the aggregate score at 2-2 and scored the fastest goal of this season’s competition. The two sides traded spells of possession and shots, but the match appeared to tilt Real Madrid’s way when Clement Lenglet fouled Kylian Mbappe in the box and conceded a penalty. The ever-reliable Vinicius Junior missed his first penalty in a Real Madrid shirt in the 71st minute, setting up for a frantic finish to regular time.
Both sides had their chances in extra time, but neither side was able to find a go-ahead goal before the end of 120 minutes. The shootout was full of drama, with Real Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez and Atletico Madrid’s Marcos Llorente failing to convert their spotkicks. The most pivotal moment of the shootout, though, came with Julian Alvarez’s kick — the refereeing team, after some time, deemed that he kicked the ball twice before sending the ball in the back of the net, invalidating his penalty.
Real Madrid will face Arsenal when the competition resumes in early April.
Bracket
Wednesday’s results
- Lille 1, Borussia Dortmund 2 (Dortmund win 3-1 on aggregate)
- Aston Villa 3, Club Brugge 0 (Aston Villa win 6-1 on aggregate)
- Arsenal 2, PSV 2 (Arsenal win 9-3 on aggregate)
- Atletico Madrid 1, Real Madrid 0 (teams tied 2-2 on aggregate, Real Madrid win 4-2 on penalties)
Tuesday’s results
- Barcelona 3, Benfica 1 (Barcelona win 4-1 on aggregate)
- Inter 2, Feyenoord 1 (Inter win 4-1 on aggregate)
- Liverpool 0, Paris Saint-Germain 1 (teams tied 1-1 on aggregate, PSG win 4-1 on penalties)
- Bayer Leverkusen 0, Bayern Munich 2 (Bayern win 5-0 on aggregate)
Quarterfinal matchups
- Arsenal vs. Real Madrid
- Paris Saint-Germain vs. Aston Villa
- Barcelona vs. Borussia Dortmund
- Bayern Munich vs. Inter
