Real shoot out Atletico, Gunners up next
Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid in a Champions League penalty shootout — again — to keep their title defence 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 finish despite slipping was disallowed on video review because he touched the ball twice.
Madrid also beat Atletico in a shootout to win the 2016 final — part of a streak of eliminating their city rivals in the knockout rounds for four straight years. That hard-luck run started with the 2014 final when Atletico conceded an equalising goal in stoppage time.
Madrid move on to the quarterfinals to face Arsenal, who also advanced along with Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund. The quarterfinals lineup was completed with Madrid’s win in a tense derby that had ended 2-2 on aggregate score. Atletico led 1-0 after 90 minutes and extra time in a typically tenacious performance at their Metropolitano Stadium to cancel out Madrid’s 2-1 advantage from the first leg last week.
It was more relaxed in London, where 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.
