Football
Real Madrid Beat Rivals Atletico After Penalty Shootout Controversy In Champions League
James is an experienced writer covering a wide range of sports, including Premier League and European football, Rugby Union, WWE and the NFL. Having studied English & Creative Writing at Plymouth University, James completed a master's degree in Digital & Social Media Marketing before pursuing a career in Journalism. He then graduated from News Associates in Manchester after finishing their NCTJ Postgraduate Diploma in Multimedia Sports Journalism. Since then, James spent time writing for GameRant before ing Reach PLC, where he featured regularly in publications such as the Daily Mirror, Football.LDN, Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo, as well as dozens of local titles. Now at SportsCasting, James provides expert analysis and detailed research features, as well as covering breaking news stories.
Get to know James Chittick betterPublished13 Mar 2025
Watch Atletico Madrid Vs Real Madrid highlights as Real beat their neighbours on penalties in controversial fashion to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Former Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez’s successful penalty for Atletico was ruled out, as Real Madrid won the shootout to advance to the last eight.
Real will now face Arsenal in the next round, while Diego Simeone’s men must lick their wounds and hope to beat their rivals to the La Liga title.
With Real Madrid taking a 2-1 advantage into the second leg, Conor Gallagher’s early goal brought the two sides level after just 27 seconds.
But neither side was able to find another score by the end of extra time, meaning penalties were needed.
With the first three spot-kicks finding the net, Alvarez lined up to take Atletico’s second.
Despite slipping as he made , the ball just barely squeezed in underneath the bar.
But after an intervention by the VAR, Alvarez was deemed to have touched the ball twice in the act of scoring his penalty.
His successful kick was therefore ruled out, handing Real the advantage.
Fede Valverde then made it 3-1 in the shootout. While Jan Oblak denied Lucas Vasquez, Marcos Llorente then hit the bar for Atletico to give Real the winning kick.
Antonio Rudiger’s decisive penalty just about found its way past Oblak to send Real Madrid through 4-2 on penalties.
Watch: Atletico Madrid Vs Real Madrid Highlights
Real Madrid are into the next round and looking to defend their crown.
The Spanish giants are in search of a record-extending 16th European title, having beaten Borussia Dortmund in last year’s final.
Next Up, they face Villareal away from home in La Liga.
For Atletico, it’s another tale of woe against their arch rivals. They can feel somewhat hard done by, though.
The replays were far from conclusive and it did not look certain that Alvarez had made double during his penalty.
Atletico Madrid’s next game is a big one, with Simeone’s men hosting Barcelona on Sunday.
Barca are currently top of La Liga, one point above both Atletico and Real Madrid.