_**MADRID**_: Real Madrid left it even later than usual before claiming their latest last-ditch Champions League victory – though this time the holders were taken all the way to penalties before overcoming derby rivals Atletico.
The shootout victory by 4-2 followed a 1-0 extra-time win for hosts Atletico which levelled the aggregate at 2-2 in a dramatic round of 16 tie. German defender Antonio Rudiger converted the winning spotkick to secure a quarter-final against Arsenal.
Neither side could find a winning goal before the end of extra time after Conor Gallagher’s strike – just 27 seconds into the game – had levelled the tie on aggregate after Real’s 2-1 first-leg win.
Atletico made a dream start when England midfelder Conor Gallagher struck in the first minute, becoming the first Englishman to score in a Madrid derby.
Real struggled to create a chance against a disciplined home side who had not lost a knockout tie at home since Ajax beat them in 1997. At the other end, the lively Julian Alvarez was denied three times by Thibaut Courtois.
Frenchman Kylian Mbappe had been kept largely quiet until he was Clement Lenglet. Vinicius Jr, who had scored all of his previous seven penalties for Real, shot high over the bar.
A blank extra time meant penalties were needed and, after the first three had been converted, former Manchester City forward Alvarez stepped up to take Atletico’s second.
He slipped while taking it but the ball ended up in the back of the net. While it was initially given, the successful spot-kick was subsequently ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR), with Alvarez having been deemed to have touched the ball twice as he struck his effort.
Fede Valverde converted his penalty to put Real 3-1 ahead and although Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved Lucas Vazquez’s spot-kick to briefly give Atletico hope, Marcos Llorente hit the bar and Rudiger stepped up to squeeze home the decisive kick.
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