Atletico Madrid 1-0 (2-4) Real Madrid Player Ratings: Los Blancos book a ticket to the quarter-finals after shootout shenanigans

Real Madrid defied all odds as they won the penalty shootout 4-2 against Atletico Madrid, despite Atletico winning 1-0 after 120 minutes, thanks to a goal from Conor Gallagher. The Los Blancos will now face Arsenal in the quarterfinals, who moved past PSV comfortably.

Both managers made two changes to their playing eleven with Real Madrid welcoming back Jude Bellingham after he completed his suspension whereas Atletico Madrid re-introduced Conor Gallagher into the starting eleven in place of Samuel Lino.

The game was off to an unbelievable start with Atletico Madrid scoring within 30 seconds of the game after Conor Gallagher started and finished a fantastic kickoff routine, as Simeone, Alvarez, de Paul and Griezmann played a key role in the build-up. It is officially the fastest goal in the Champions League this season. Atletico nullified the lead Real Madrid got within moments away from kickoff, making the tie much tastier.

Real Madrid were given license to attack more after the goal as Atleti decided to sit deep and narrow to defend their area. But, they were coming out on occasion to release themselves of that pressure. The visitors struggled to create quality chances as their attacks from the flanks ended up dead as they realized a lack of aerial threat in the box. While Atleti had some fantastic chances, Courtois parried them away and kept the visitors in the side. The half ended 1-0 in the favour of the hosts as Real Madrid looked frustrated so far.

Real Madrid continued to struggle to score but Atletico Madrid continued their dominance. While Alvarez continued to trouble Courtois with his attempts from range, multiple counterattacks from the hosts kept Real Madrid on their feet. While things looked bleak, Real Madrid were awarded a penalty after a dynamic run from Kylian Mbappe was ended clumsily by Lenglet. Vinicius Jr decided to line up to take the penalty. To everyone’s surprise, it was a horrible, miscued attempt as he skied the shot and as a result, kept the aggregate score on level terms.

While Atletico Madrid continued their dominance, the high-quality keeping from Courtois denied them. With time running out, Atletico Madrid were looking nervous and the manager was making changes to the side with the additional time in the back of his mind. The second half ended goalless, leading the game to extra time.

The extra time was end-to-end mayhem with both sides going all in for the winner. Both teams had moments where they could have scored the winner but were denied by excellent defending. Ancelloti made a surprising decision to take off Vinicius Jr before the shootout, giving Endrick a chance to make a name for himself. The added time remained goalless and both sides prepared for the shootout.

Real Madrid stepped up first in the shootout and were off to a great start as Mbappe finished it calmly. Atletico Madrid sent Sorloth as their first kicker, and he thumped it into the bottom corner.

Bellingham stepped up and converted next while everyone thought Alvarez followed it in the same fashion, VAR ruled out his kick as it was deemed to have double-touched. But all hopes were not lost as Lucas Vazquez missed his shot. Unfortunately, Marcos Llorente failed to convert his kick too and Rudiger made sure he finished the game off and sealed the victory for Los Blancos.

Here are the Atletico Madrid Vs Real Madrid Player Ratings.

Atletico Madrid Player Ratings

GK- Jan Oblak – 6/10

The goalkeeper did not face any hard chances to save in the first half and did not have to do anything to save the penalty too. He did a fairly decent job in the shootout too.

LB- Reinildo – 6/10

While he struggled to contain Rodrygo initially, he slowly grew into the match as he even contributed on the attacking end.

CB- Clement Lenglet – 5/10

His error to stop Mbappe resulted in conceding the penalty and was lucky that it did not turn the momentum in the favour of the visitors.

CB- Jose Gimenez – 6.5/10

He got in one of the best challenges of the night, denying Jude Bellingham to score in the second half.

RB- Marcos Llorente – 6/10

He was tasked to deal with Vinicius Jr on the right, which he dealt with with ease. He could have done better with his kick in the shootout.

CM- Pablo Barrios – 6.5/10

The defensive midfielder did a fantastic job with timing his tackles to win the possession back for his side on multiple occasions.

CM- Rodrigo de Paul – 6.5/10

He was the connection between the attack and defense, linking them up well with his passing and movement.

LM- Conor Gallagher – 8/10

The midfielder gave a dream start for his club, scoring within thirty seconds and setting the tempo for the night as a result.

ST- Julian Alvarez – 8/10

He was the danger man of the night, who troubled the visitors the most with his goal attempts. It was very unfortunate that his kick got ruled out in the shootout.

ST- Antoine Griezmann- 6.5/10

While he was not involved in the chance creations, he did a lot of dirty work in the midfield, winning the ball back and contesting in physical duels.

RM- Giuliano Simeone- 7/10

He was willing to engage in physical and mental battles with the opposition, often not shying away to make big tackles.

SUB- Samuel Lino – 5.5/10

He came in late into the game to replace the star of their team for the night Conor Gallagher.

SUB- Angel Correa – 7/10

The forward almost made an impact instantly, coming close to scoring the goal, moments after his entry. He injected life into this attack and made it more threatening.

SUB- Alexander Sorloth – 6/10

He was put in late in the game to find a winner, which he has done on multiple occasions for this side this season.

SUB- Nahuel Molina – 6/10

He was put in as a defensive-minded option to seal up the backline.

SUB- Robin Le Normand – NA

He was subbed in to replace the already booked Lenglet, who looked clumsy on occasion.

SUB- Cesar Azpilicueta – NA

The veteran defender was subbed in to replace Reinildo who got a knock and to add more solidity to the backline.

Manager- Diego Simeone – 8/10

His changes to the starting eleven paid off immediately, as the players he introduced created a positive impact. His side kept the pressure on for the complete 90 minutes but could have done better to get another goal to seal the game in normal time.

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Real Madrid Player Ratings

GK- Thibaut Courtois – 8.5/10

Despite playing in a hostile environment for him, he stood out tonight, making multiple key saves for his side.

LB- Ferland Mendy – 5/10

He looked careless while defending and was completely toothless in attack, struggling to create any sort of meaningful chances.

CB- Raul Asencio – 6.5/10

He practiced and showed maturity in multiple instances, smelling out the danger and responding as quickly as possible.

CB- Antonio Rudiger – 6/10

He was active in blocking out chances which included an acrobatic clearance in the second half.

RB- Fede Valverde – 7/10

While there were moments of brilliance, he failed to create any dangerous chances from the right-hand side. But, his defensive game was excellent, denying the left flank of Atletico Madrid any sort of joy.

CM- Luka Modric – 7/10

The veteran midfielder showcased his class once again, as he looked very comfortable in possession, circulating the ball around with ease.

CM- Aurelin Tchouameni – 5.5/10

A silly tackle from him on Griezmann to prevent a counterattack got him into the books of the referee unnecessarily.

CM- Jude Bellingham – 6.5/10

While he looked off pace initially and failed to make an impact with the runs that he usually makes, he slowly grew into the game and looked energetic even in added time.

LW- Vinicius Jr – 4.5/10

The talisman of the club struggled to get going and was constantly getting kicked down by the opposition players. To make things worse, he skied a penalty that could have sealed the tie for his side.

ST- Kylian Mbappe – 6.5/10

His all-round play looked lacking tonight, as he struggled to create chances for his teammates whilst losing the physical duels with the centrebacks. He did well to win the penalty for the team but surprisingly decided to not take it.

RW- Rodrygo – 5/10

A substandard performance for his standards, as he struggled to get into the game and was rightfully subbed off.

SUB- Eduardo Camavinga – 5.5/10

He was put in to inject some energy into the midfield as the team was struggling in that department.

SUB- Lucas Vazquez- 5.5/10

His introduction meant that Valverde could be moved into midfield, where he could be more threatening.

SUB- Brahim Diaz – 6/10

He was put in to give a different dimension to the attack that Rodrygo failed to give, but his performance was average.

SUB- Fran Garcia – 6/10

He looked more proactive than Mendy at the left-back position, showing a willingness to jump into tackles to win the ball back.

SUB- Endrick – 6/10

The manager put faith in the young Brazilian attacker as he entered the pitch close to a shootout.

Manager- Carlo Ancelotti – 5/10

A timid performance from his side away from home, struggling to break down the low block and create meaningful chances in multiple intervals. He was lucky that his side went through via penalties.

The Sportsdunia Player of the Match goes to Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois.

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