Real Madrid has once again proven their dominance over city rivals Atletico Madrid in penalty shootouts, winning for the sixth consecutive time in knockout competitions following Wednesday's Champions League last-16 clash.
The high-stakes derby reached penalties after Conor Gallagher's goal just 27 seconds into the match leveled the aggregate score at 2-2, with neither side finding a winner in normal time or extra time.
However, the shootout was marked by controversy when former Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez's effort was disallowed after VAR review. The Argentina international slipped while taking his penalty, causing him to make contact with the ball twice in one motion, despite successfully beating goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
The incident caused momentary confusion in the stadium, as the scoreboard initially displayed 2-2 after Alvarez's effort, when in reality Real Madrid led 3-1 at that point in the shootout.
According to Article 14.1 of the IFAB laws of the game, "The kicker must not play the ball again until it has touched another player." This rule is the same one that prevents players from scoring rebounds if their penalty hits the post.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone appeared skeptical about the decision after the match, stating: "The referee said when Julian got to the penalty spot he touched the ball with his standing foot, but the ball did not move. I've never seen a penalty where they've called the VAR, but well, they would have seen that he touched it. I want to believe they saw he touched it."
Simeone then challenged those present in the stadium: "Did you see him touching the ball twice? Please whoever was present in the stadium and saw him touching the ball twice, the ball moving, please come forward and raise your hand. I don't see anybody with their hand raised so that's all I have to say... next question."
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti disagreed, confirming: "They detected it. When we realised there was this doubt they had already detected it on VAR. I saw it, I think he touches it with his left foot, a second touch."
Courtois, Real Madrid's goalkeeper, acknowledged the unfortunate nature of the incident for Atletico but supported the decision: "I felt that there was something weird going on, so we said it straight to the referee and then it was confirmed that there was a double touch and it didn't count, so that obviously gives us the edge. [Alvarez] slipped and he touched the ball twice and that is a missed penalty. You cannot touch the ball twice. That's bad luck but it's the rules."
Former Newcastle and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given explained on BBC Match of the Day: "Sometimes you see it happen where the ball is kicked off the other foot and then goes in a completely different direction. Here the ball doesn't really change direction but [Alvarez] does kick the ball off his [right] foot. The laws of the game are clear."
This unusual situation has occurred previously in high-profile matches. In 2017, Leicester's Riyad Mahrez had a penalty disallowed for a similar offense in a match against Manchester City. Man City manager Pep Guardiola commented at the time: "The shot was strange but the rule is clear. Two touches, the same as golf. It is not normal."
Similarly, in January 2023, Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic experienced the same issue when he slipped during a penalty against Newcastle. However, in the Scottish Premiership later that year, Aberdeen's Bojan Miovski had his penalty stand under similar circumstances after a VAR review in a match against St Mirren.
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, who attended the match, revealed additional details about the tense atmosphere: "There was a typical exchange of strong words in the tunnel after the match, but nothing different to what happens after every match."
He also noted that Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe was struggling physically: "He struggled with his ankle and with a toenail that is coming off." This affected penalty duties, with Mbappe telling Vinicius Jr., "I don't feel like kicking this, I am not ready," leading to Vinicius taking and missing a penalty during normal time.
Regarding the decisive moment, Balague explained that young star Endrick was initially set to take the fifth penalty for Real Madrid, but "Carlo Ancelotti looked at Endrick and thought he wasn't ready so asked Antonio Rudiger to take it." Rudiger's successful conversion sealed Real Madrid's progression.
The victory maintains Real Madrid's remarkable record against their city rivals in the Champions League: this is the fifth time Atletico have been eliminated by Real Madrid in the competition's knockout stages. Only Bayern Munich has been eliminated by a single opponent more often in the competition's knockout rounds, having been knocked out by Real Madrid on seven occasions.
Real Madrid's triumph keeps their hopes alive for a record-extending 16th European Cup championship.
