By Opta Analyst | Created at 2025-03-12 23:15:06 | Updated at 2025-03-13 04:51:26
5 hours ago
The European champions will face Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-final after seeing off their rivals with a penalty-shootout win. Check out the best facts and data from the game with our Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid stats page.
Reigning European champions Real Madrid snuck past Atlético Madrid after a nerve-wracking penalty-shootout victory at the home of their rivals in the Champions League round of 16.
The win was confirmed when Antonio Rüdiger‘s spot-kick snuck past Jan Oblak, with Madrid’s progress setting up a quarter-final meeting with Arsenal.
Wherever these two go, controversy is never far away, and this game was no different, with Julián Alvarez having his successful spot-kick overturned because he slipped and touched the ball twice. Marcos Llorente also missed his penalty as Madrid secured victory in the most dramatic fashion.
By the time those penalties were missed, the only goal of the game had felt like an awfully long time ago.
The game had got off to an astonishing start. Rodrigo De Paul was played into an advanced position down the right and his low cross found its way to Conor Gallagher, and the former Chelsea man scrambled the ball home to level the tie at 2-2 with just 27 seconds on the clock.
It was the earliest ever scored by an Englishman in the competition, as well as the earliest Atlético goal in the Champions League. It was also only the second time Madrid had conceded inside the opening minute of a Champions League game, along with Roy Makaay’s goal after 10 seconds for Bayern Munich in March 2007.
Having suffered that brutal early blow, Madrid then didn’t take long to find their feet, and the game swiftly settled into a predictable pattern of the visitors dominating the ball and Atlético dropping into an extremely compact block. The reigning European champions struggled to do anything with all their possession, though, ending the half with 62% of the ball but their lowest shots total (three) in the first half of any Champions League game this season, and just 0.08 xG. Vinícius Júnior, Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo were all extremely quiet.
There was little in the way of goalmouth action at either end, but Thibaut Courtois was the busier of the two goalkeepers. The Belgian parried away a couple of Alvarez efforts from the edge of the box, although he wasn’t properly troubled after the early goal.
There was a simmering tension only to be expected from any Madrid derby, let alone in the second leg of a Champions League knockout tie, and the game heated up after the break. Big challenges started flying in, yellow cards were dished out, and mistakes crept in as nerves started jangling.
A Ferland Mendy slip nearly let Atlético in for one opportunity, and then Rüdiger was rescued by centre-back partner Raúl Asensio following a misplaced pass.
And when Atléti, so well organised up until this point, let their guard down once, they were very, very fortunate not to be punished. It was the first time all night that Madrid were afforded space to attack into.
On that occasion, Madrid found their way out of defence following an Atléti attack and broke at pace. Vinícius fed Bellingham in midfield, and he released Mbappé. In the blink of an eye, the Frenchman was charging into the area, skipping past one challenge and only stopped by a cynical foul from a desperate Clément Lenglet. No side has conceded more penalties in the 2024-25 Champions League than Atlético (five).
Madrid had their chance, and Vinícius – perhaps surprisingly – stepped up to take the penalty rather than Mbappé. He ran up unconvincingly and skied his effort horribly to let Atlético off the hook. That meant Madrid have missed two penalties in a single Champions League season (excluding shootouts) for the first time since 2013-14.
A combination of tired legs and neither team – particularly the hosts – being willing to risk leaving themselves too open ensured the 90 minutes petered out. Coming into the game, both teams had progressed from each of their last four Champions League ties which had gone to extra-time or beyond. Something had to give here.
In extra-time, while Atléti posed some threat on the counter, the game was played almost entirely in their third of the pitch. Alexander Sørloth cut an isolated figure up front for the hosts, playing the role of little more than a helpless spectator.
Penalties loomed, and nobody was able to prevent the game going the distance.
In the shootout, Courtois saved one fewer penalty then Oblak – who kept Lucas Vázquez’s tame effort out – but Madrid still came out on top. Two failures did for Atlético, who crashed out in the most cruel fashion.
Madrid march on in their quest for a 16th European title. Expect plenty more drama.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid stats from this Champions League round-of-16 match in the Spanish capital.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Atlético Madrid vs Real Madrid: Post-Match Facts
- Real Madrid have won a penalty shootout in the European Cup/Champions League for a fourth time – now the outright most of any side in Europe’s premier competition.
- Conor Gallagher scored the earliest ever goal by an English player in a Champions League game (27 seconds), and also the earliest Atlético Madrid have ever scored in the competition.
- Vinícius Júnior missed a penalty for the first time for Real Madrid in all competitions, with today’s the eighth he has taken (excl. shootouts).
- Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham made his 45th UEFA Champions League appearance, the outright second-most of any player while aged 21 or younger in the competition’s history, overtaking Jamal Musiala (44) and behind only Iker Casillas (47).
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