Thursday 13 / March / 2025
Madrid: Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid in a UEFA Champions League (UCL) penalty shootout - again - to keep its title defense alive and advance to the quarterfinals.
Defender Antonio Rudiger scored the decisive spot-kick in a 4-2 shootout win after two Atletico players missed. Marco Llorente's shot struck the bar after Julian Alvarez's score after he slipped was disallowed because the ball struck his right foot twice.
Madrid also beat Atletico in a shootout to win the 2016 final - part of a streak of eliminating its city rival in four straight years.
Madrid moves on to the UCL quarterfinals to face Arsenal, which also advanced along with Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund. The quarterfinals lineup was completed with Madrid's win in a tense derby that ended 2-2 on aggregate score after extra time, the Spanish MARCA newspaper reported.
Atletico led 1-0 after 90 minutes and extra time in its Metropolitano Stadium to cancel out Madrid's 2-1 advantage from the first leg last week.
Two key incidents defined regulation time. Atletico Madrid scored within 30 seconds and Real Madrid missed a penalty in the 70th minute.
Atletico took the lead with its first attack when England midfielder Conor Gallagher pounced on the ball from close range when a cross by Rodrigo De Paul was deflected into the goalmouth.
Madrid star Vinícius Júnior blazed a penalty kick high over the Atletico goal when he could have sent the defending champion into the quarterfinals. He was substituted in extra time for his teenage fellow Brazilian, Endrick.
Arsenal rested some regulars in a 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven to run up a 9-3 aggregate score.
Aston Villa also had a stress-free evening at home to ensure England has two teams in the quarterfinals, one night after Premier League leader Liverpool was beaten at Anfield by Paris Saint-Germain.
Villa won 3-0 against Club Brugge, which played with 10 men from the 17th, after a 3-1 win in Belgium last week. Brugge defender Kyriani Sabbe was sent off for pulling back Marcus Rashford when running clear on goal.
Substitute Marco Asensio, on loan at Villa from PSG, scored twice in the second half to ensure his temporary club will meet his parent club next.
Borussia Dortmund rallied with two second-half goals to win 2-1 at Lille and advance 3-2 on aggregate. The beaten finalist last season now faces Barcelona.
The quarterfinals pairings are: Arsenal vs Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain vs. Aston Villa, Barcelona vs. Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan
First-leg games are on 8-9 April 2025 and return games are one week later.
