Antonio Rudiger hit the decisive fine in a dramatic shoot-out when Real Madrid walked past Rivals Atletico Madrid despite a 1-0 defeat of the second leg in the Metropolitano.
Champions League holders Madrid saw their 2-1 lead from the first stage wiped away by Conor Gallagher's Close-Range effort after just 27 seconds on Wednesday.
But there were no further goals for 120 minutes, despite the fact that Kylian Mbappe won a fine of the second half when he was polluted by Clement Lenglet.
Vinicius Junior has that Spot-Kick over the bar, but the 12 Yards theater had only just begun.
1e – @Vinijr has missed his first penalty shovel as @realmadriden player in all competitions (taken eight, all since January 2024). Momentum. pic.twitter.com/9SXC7GKLPZ
– Optajose (@Optajose) March 12, 2025
With Madrid who first took in the shoot-out, Julian Alvarez believed that he had leveled the match on 2-2, only for a VAR review to identify a double touch while the attacker slipped and saw his finish cut into his standing foot.
That strike was therefore not allowed, so Madrid gave an advantage that they did their best to spare when Jan Oblak saved from Lucas Vazquez.
However, Marcos Llorente could not benefit from that postponement, because the next penalty from the bar bounced away, which means that Rudiger achieved a sensational victory when his decisive effort was pressed beyond Oblak and booked a quarter -final meeting with Arsenal.
Data Debrief: Fine Pine again for Atletico
Diego Simeone seemed to celebrate when the last whistle blew in extra time and reached a penalty shoot-out where his side has a strong record. Atletico had won three of their four previous Champions League shoot-outs.
However, the only exception was in a final defeat 2015-16 against Madrid, and Los Blancos has a remarkable hold on their rivals from 12 meters.
Vinicius may have failed earlier, but he was replaced before the shoot-out, and his teammates maintained the amazing 100% record of Madrid against Atleti in such situations. All six shoot-outs have won between the parties in all competitions.
It was a brutal end of a night that had started so promising for Atletico, with Gallagher's goal their fastest ever in the Champions League.
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