Real Madrid Beats Atletico Madrid On Penalties In Epic Champions League Tie
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, with Vinicius Jr. missing 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 penalty which Atleti 'keeper Jan Oblak almost kept out.
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 leading it by a single point while equal with second-place Madrid.
Atleti is also tied 4-4 in the Copa del Rey semifinals against Barca, who it faces once more on April 2 in the second leg after drawing by the mentioned scoreline in Montjuic last month.
Source: forbes.com
