Defending champions Real Madrid are through to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after beating their city rivals Atletico Madrid on penalties on Wednesday night. Real is the last team to punch the ticket to the next stage, with all UCL quarter-final matchups now being set.
Real entered the match in a comfortable position thanks to a 2-1 win in the first leg. However, Atletico needed less than a minute in the rematch to erase that advantage thanks to a goal from midfielder Connor Gallagher.
It appeared that the score set the stage for a thrilling game, but that didn’t turn out to be the case as both teams took a cautious approach. Vinicius Junior had an opportunity to get Real ahead on aggregate once again in the 70th minute but ended up missing a penalty.
Neither team managed to score another goal for the rest of the regular time and extra time, which led to a penalty shootout.
Real emerged victorious, converting four of their five penalties with Antonio Rudiger scoring the deciding penalty kick. Meanwhile, Atletico saw Julian Alvarez’s penalty score nixed due to a slip and double-kick, while Marcos Llorente hit the crossbar.
Real Madrid will now face Arsenal in the quarter-finals. Other matchups include Paris Saint-Germain going up against Aston Villa, Barcelona facing Borussia Dortmund, and Inter Milan playing Bayern Munich.
