Real Madrid beat Atlético Madrid in a dramatic penalty shootout on Wednesday as the reigning champions advanced to the quarterfinals, in another UEFA Champions League victory over their local rivals.

Atlético — who have never eliminated Real in the Champions League — won 1-0 on the night, thanks to Conor Gallagher’s goal after just 27 seconds, to level the tie 2-2 on aggregate.

Vinícius Júnior missed a second-half penalty at the Metropolitano, as the game went to extra time, and then penalties.

Julián Álvarez’s spot kick was ruled out by VAR after the Atlético forward slipped, kicking the ball with both feet, before Antonio Rüdiger scored the decisive penalty to send Real into the last eight, where they’ll play Arsenal.

It all started so well for Atléti

It took just 27 seconds for Atlético Madrid to take the lead, and for the crowd at the Metropolitano to believe that yes, after so many years of heartbreak against their biggest rivals, this really could be their night in the Champions League. The goal came so soon that some late-comers were still taking their seats inside the packed stadium. Real Madrid weren’t ready, either.

Atlético kicked off with Álvarez playing the ball back to Pablo Barrios, and then Rodrigo De Paul. He played it back to the defence, where it found its way to Clément Lenglet. Under pressure, Lenglet launched it long, sparking instant panic in the Real defence. Raúl Asencio’s hurried clearance went straight to Antoine Griezmann. He gave it quickly to Gallagher, who moved it on to Álvarez, who spotted De Paul advancing on the right. De Paul’s cross was cleverly skipped over by Giuliano Simeone, and there was Gallagher, sliding in.

Atlético’s fans could barely believe it. The celebrations saw Álvarez literally jumping for joy, De Paul facing the crowd, punching the air, Gallagher screaming “yes!” at the crowd. It was all smiles; Atlético led 1-0, it was 2-2 on aggregate, and one thing was clear: Atlético were right back in the tie. If Real Madrid were going to progress, they’d have to do it the hard way. — Alex Kirkland

Vinícius endures a rough evening

In the end, he’s a winner. In the end he, and his indomitable team, march on and, in the end, his penalty wasn’t, by a long stretch, the controversial one.

But Wednesday was a night when we saw the most junior version of Vinícius Junior.

Whatever you think of him, and only a liar would contend that he’s not sublimely talented and magically entertaining, Vinícius is a warrior. Sometimes he has “winner” juice just oozing out of him, sometimes his belligerence overtakes him. He has rough edges. But when the chips are down, usually, he’s rough, tough and ready to battle anyone so that he, and Madrid, win.

There’s an element of the street about this vibrant, sometimes venomous Brazilian. The street where you learn the most venerable of skills, the dribble, the feint, the trick, the shoulders going one way, hips the other and boots, with ball, directly towards goal. The street, too, where it’s “me vs. you” where the hard-nosed, “I will not be beaten” men and women of great sports franchises graduate from and keep with them all their lives.

But Vinícius’ night at the Metropolitano wasn’t summed up by the fizzing, flying penalty which soared over Jan Oblak’s bar, too quickly for Atléti’s keeper to even bother following its trajectory. The 24-year-old looked limp, listless, almost disinterested for most of this brutal contest, barring a short spell of “I must seek redemption” he missed Madrid’s chance to win the tie in normal time. His body language was horrible.

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And his night without shining armour was summed up when, Vinícius having been robbed of the ball, and sitting on the turf complaining about the referee, Jude Bellingham raced back down the pitch to make a saving tackle and then turned towards the green grass and beat his English fists down on the playing surface one, twice and then a third time.

That done, that fury expunged, he then stood up and, at about 15 metres distance from Vinícius, the 21-year-old Englishman pumped his fists out and back and out and back and roared his unmistakable fury at Vinícius. His gestures and words were: “Wake up! Take responsibility! Fight!!!! That’s not good enough Vini!!!”

It all happened in front of their coach, Carlo Ancelotti, not someone who’s prone to either Vinícius’ hapless, helpless “not my night” posture … but not someone who’s much given to erupting in volcanic fury like Bellingham did.

Yet whatever he thought, whatever he saw he seemed to side with the younger guy. Ancelotti said something and Vinícius just turned to his manager and spread his arms wide in the time-honoured: “What do you want me to do about it all boss?”

It was weird, he was washed-out and when he slouched off, to be replaced by Endrick, Ancelotti wasn’t even counting on Vinícius for the spot-kick shootout. The inquest will follow. But, at least, it will follow with Madrid now facing up to the prospect of beating Arsenal to reach the Champions League semifinal … again.

Something they’ll have much less chance of doing with this version of Vinícius-lite. — Graham Hunter

The missed call that could have changed the game

Because Madrid won in the end, less will be made, forensically, of the moment when Lenglet fouled his international teammate, Kylian Mbappé, and conceded the penalty which threatened to eliminate Atléti long before a shootout actually did. But all you need to do, like some football detective, is read this article, go and read the football laws then add the replay of Lenglet’s foul and you’ll agree that this was a red-card offence. No question.

The “Double Jeopardy” rule was clarified in 2016, realising that an attacking team earning a penalty and seeing a defender sent off was a punishment too far. Now, the law quite clearly states that when a foul in the box leads to a penalty it’s sufficient only to book the penalised player if he has made a genuine attempt to play the ball. In all other circumstances it’s a penalty plus a red card. On Wednesday, the French defender was tricked and then left stranded by Mbappé — who went from “no game” to “show game” the longer the match went on — and then Lenglet pulled at Mbappé and fouls him. There’s not attempt to get the ball and, frankly, I think that referee Szymon Marciniak (and he’s far, far from being alone in avoiding doling out the maximum punishment in this kind of situation) banks on the fact that the penalty will be scored and, generally, media and fans will sweep under the carpet that he ducked the full application of his duty.

It was a penalty, but there was no attempt to play the ball. It should have been “tough luck” for Lenglet, and Madrid should have been playing against 10 men from the 70th minute onwards. Simple as that. — Hunter

De Paul did everything he could for Atléti

Simeone is known for being a proactive, interventionist coach, never shy about making a double, or even triple substitution if he doesn’t like what he’s seeing. So the fact that on Wednesday, he didn’t make a single change until the 85th minute — when Samuel Lino replaced Gallagher — was notable. Even as Atlético tired, Simeone was reluctant to get fresh legs onto the pitch. Perhaps that was an acknowledgement that extra time was likely, and there’d be plenty of time for changes then. Or perhaps he was just perfectly happy with how his team were playing.

This was a game that Atlético dominated, with and without the ball. It was played at their speed, in their style, and on their terms. And who made sure of that? De Paul, Simeone’s on-field lieutenant, setting the tempo in midfield. De Paul hasn’t always convinced in his four years at Atlético. At times in Madrid, he’s looked lightweight, an inferior version of the player who has excelled as Lionel Messi’s minder and right-hand man with Argentina.

But here, he bossed the midfield with force of personality and rock-solid technique, never once looking overawed by the occasion. He was involved in Atlético’s opener, crossing for Gallagher to convert, and had a hand in almost everything good that the team did. And he barely tired, until his body could literally take no more in added time, and he fell to the floor with cramp. De Paul had given everything. He limped off to a standing ovation in the 94th minute, recognition of an outstanding individual performance, even if — with the tie still level at 2-2 — he was now unable to affect the outcome. — Kirkland

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The dual between Giménez and Bellingham

On a generally titanic night, there was a battle of the titans to enjoy: namely José María Giménez vs. Bellingham.

Just to state the obvious, when Atléti were in possession and pushing — something which they didn’t achieve often enough — Wednesday night’s tussle went into abeyance. But as Ancelotti admitted post-match: “Atléti take up excellent defensive positions and work very hard for one another.”

So, when that happened, Bellingham pushed into Atléti’s penalty area whenever he could. His wingers would punt the ball into him, and Giménez would give Madrid’s No. 5 a good sniff of his no-doubt expensive aftershave. Cheek-to-cheek, header after header, duel after duel — two big characters, two big men, two driven winners.

It was a terrific sideshow and one which led both of them to give sparky shots of dialogue back and forth. I’m not sure which language they used, perhaps some of it was the kind of language you’d not use in front of your mum or your kids. But they got their messages across. It all reached an absolute zenith when, late in the second half, a wonderful ball zinged in from Madrid’s right touchline and there was Bellingham, lurking like a natural-born goal-scorer in Atléti’s six-yard area. It had goal written all over it; a goal to draw level on the night, to win the tie and to allow Bellingham to say “ta-ta sucker” to Gimenez. But the defender lunged, lucked-out and blocked Madrid’s outright best chance of a goal from open play.

Still, the winner takes all. But there’s potentially another meeting between these two on the horizon in the Copa del Rey final. If both teams make it through the semis, get your hands on the tickets when they come out — sometimes the sideshow beats the main show. — Hunter

Real’s Champions League history comes to the fore

How long can you rely on moments of singular, individual brilliance, on digging deep into vast reserves of elite Champions League-level experience, on an intangible aura, built on 70 years of European Cup success? This is Real Madrid, so the answer is: quite long, actually. Real were often second best on Wednesday, looking like a team that’s lost its way, bereft of identity, a stark contrast to Simeone’s clinical Atlético. But they stayed in the game. In the 70th minute, it looked like their chance had come, Mbappé — in Real’s one moment of unanswerable attacking quality — sliced through the Atlético defence to win a penalty. But Vinícius couldn’t convert.

After that, Real improved, as coach Ancelotti’s changes — introducing Eduardo Camavinga, Lucas Vázquez, Brahim Díaz and Fran García — gave the team a much-needed sense of direction and urgency. As the clock ticked towards added time, you could feel a growing sense of tension from Atlético, both the team and the fans. They were so close. But they’ve been close, agonizingly close, against Real in Europe before. And it hasn’t been enough.

In extra time — a frequent occurrence when these teams meet in knockout competitions — Real took control, and it was Atlético’s turn to hang on. Then, on to penalties. Atlético’s record in Champions League shootouts with Real, namely a defeat in the 2016 final in Milan, was not encouraging. And that was vindicated by flawless spot kicks from Mbappé, Bellingham and Valverde to put Real on top. There was confusion inside the stadium when Álvarez’s penalty was disallowed, but that was soon forgotten when Rudiger’s shot slipped through Jan Oblak’s hands, to send the Germany international and his teammates sprinting up the pitch towards the away fans, high behind the other goal.

Next up for Real in the quarterfinals is Arsenal, a team they haven’t faced since 2006. Then, a Real side packed full of Galácticos was eliminated in the last 16, thanks to Thierry Henry’s sensational solo goal at the Bernabéu. This Real Madrid team is equally full of stars, and is just as unconvincing as a unit. If they’re to go all the way in this year’s competition, they’ll surely have to improve as a collective.

Or will they? Having Mbappé, Vinícius, Bellingham and Valverde might be enough. — Kirkland

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What next for Atléti and Simeone?

Sometimes, even in the heights of the emotions which football, and nights like this, can produce it’s actually the stats which tell the starkest tale. Even above the tear-stained eyes, the disbelieving faces and the broken hearts.

Atlético have now played Madrid in six separate European Cup or Champions League ties — with 11 matches within those appointments — and Simeone has yet to architect a win. Not one.

It’s ultra ironic that when he arrived at the club, he was the jinx-buster, he was, literally, their saviour. Atléti hadn’t won a derbi against their dominant neighbours for 14 years and it was beyond a joke — it was pure, agonising pain. He broke the hoodoo by winning the Spanish cup final, at the Bernabeu, in Jose Mourinho’s last match in charge of Madrid and Atléti were whole again.

Now, it feels like something similar is happening. Atléti lost two UCL finals to Madrid, 2014 and 2016, and Simeone, after the latter, spoke about being haunted by the notes of the Champions League anthem. A superstitious man, at the best of times, I think he thought he was jinxed. Truly. This was the chance. Madrid playing a pale, ghostly version of themselves and if not there for the taking, then vulnerable. The post-match press conference, where Simeone was bouncy, proud of his team, funny about the VAR decision on Álvarez’ double-touch on the penalty with was disallowed didn’t show the true hurt. Nor the psychological damage. Not really.

That will sink in and sour. Maybe these two meet again this season if each of them win their Copa del Rey semis. But when the international break comes around, when his footballers head off for international duty and Simeone’s left reflecting on another match which slipped through his hands, he’ll either think: it’s time to approach these tests more bravely, with attacking intent. Or he’ll conclude that it’s just not meant to be.

That’s the way he’s constructed. And what a pity because, in every other respect, he’s Atléti’s greatest man. — Hunter