Arsenal will face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final after Los Blancos edged past rivals Atletico Madrid following a controversial penalty shootout in the Spanish capital.
Real came into their second leg clash against Atletico up 2-1 on aggregate, but were forced to seal the tie on spot kicks after the Atletico led 1-0 after 120 minutes.
However, Diego Simeone’s side were controversially denied a goal in the shootout, despite Julian Alvarez finding the back of the net for Atletico’s second penalty.
Alvarez had slipped in his run-up before seeing his effort fire into the top of the net, but after a short VAR check, referee Szymon Marciniak announced the effort had been ruled out.
His shot was ruled as a miss because the ball ricocheted off his left foot after he initially kicked it with his right as he slipped, with Marciniak signalling that Alvarez had two touches with his fingers.
In a penalty shootout, the kicker cannot make contact with the ball at all after it initially leaves their boot.
Arsenal will face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals after the Spanish giants beat Atletico Madrid by virute of a controversial penalty shootout victory on Wednesday
Julian Alvarez’s penalty was ruled a miss, despite him scoring, as he touched the ball twice
Alvarez had slipped as he stepped up for his effort, with the ball also hitting his left foot
And since Alvarez made a second contact with the ball, it was determined that he encroached on the aforementioned rule.
The decision initially caused confusion, with no-one inside the stadium seemingly aware that Alvarez’s effort had been ruled out, while it also wasn’t clear on the TV coverage.
However, thanks to the semi-automated VAR technology in action, there is an impact sensor in the ball, which means the technology was the factor that determined Alvarez had touched it twice.
Real went onto score four of their five spot kicks, while Marcos Llorente missed his effort for Atletico, meaning Ancelotti’s side progresed by virtue of a 4-2 victory in the shootout.
During the clash, Connor Gallagher had struck opened the scoring after just 27 seconds.
Real had a chance to equalise through Vinicius Junior in the second half, but the Brazilian fluffed his lines and missed his spot kick.
The 2024 Ballon d’Or runner-up was off the pitch for the shootout. Instead, it was Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Antonio Rudiger who netted their efforts to get the job done for Madrid.
Lucas Vazquez missed, but with Alvarez’s illegal kick and Llorente also failing to find the back of the net with his penalty, Atletico were knocked out.
Alvarez’s penalty was ruled out after VAR was helped by impact sensors inside the ball
It was a cruel end to the tie for Alvarez and Atletico, who had won the second leg match 1-0
Arsenal eased into the quarter-finals after beating PSV 9-3 on aggregate over their two legs
Elsehwere, the Gunners eased into the last eight after a 9-3 win over PSV Eindhoven on aggregate; the tie was virtually sealed after Mikel Arteta’s side claimed a 7-1 victory in the Netherlands last week.
Barcelona will face Borussia Dortmund, PSG match up against Aston Vlla, and Bayern Munich are up against Inter Milan.
The first legs of the last eight fixtures will take place on April 8/9, while the next legs will be a week later on April 15/16.
The winner of Arsenal against Real will face either PSG or Villa in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are on the other end of the bracket, along with Bayern, Dortmund and Inter, meaning a sensational El Clasico is on the cards for the Champions League final.
