Real Madrid beat city rivals Atlético 4-2 on penalties to reach the Champions League quarterfinals following an enthralling round-of-16 tie, which ended 2-2 on aggregate after extra time on Wednesday.
Antonio Rüdiger converted the winning spot-kick for Real after their second-leg match finished 1-0 to Atlético thanks to an early goal from midfielder Conor Gallagher after Vinicius Junior missed a late second-half penalty for Real.
Real also beat Atlético in a shootout to win the 2016 final — part of a streak of eliminating their city rival in the knockout rounds for four straight years, starting with the 2014 final.
The hosts were fuming after forward Julián Álvarez had his shootout penalty ruled out by the referee. He slipped and his left foot slightly touched the ball before he kicked it with his right foot, making it two touches and invalidating a strike that would have levelled the shootout at 2-2.
“I felt that he touched the ball twice and I told the referee,” Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. “It’s not easy to see that. It was a bit of bad luck for them there.”
Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved a spot kick by Lucas Vázquez, but Marcos Llorente stroked his effort off the crossbar, leaving it for Rüdiger to seal victory for defending champions Real who are bidding for a record-extending 16th European Cup win.
In the quarterfinals, the Spanish side will face Arsenal, who also advanced Wednesday along with Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund.
