A slip, a double touch, a missed penalty: Just like that, Atletico Madrid on Wednesday endured yet another heartbreaking loss to rivals Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.
Julian Alvarez slipped and touched the ball twice while taking his penalty-kick in the shoot-out against Madrid, resulting in the goal being erased after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review confirmed the infraction.
It would have tied the shoot-out at 2-2, but Real Madrid eventually moved ahead 3-1 and won by a final score of 4-2 to advance to the quarter-finals and keep alive their hopes of winning the Champions League again.
Photo: AFP
“I felt that he touched the ball twice and I told the referee,” Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. “It’s not easy to see that. It was a bit of bad luck for them there.”
The referee did not initially see the double touch, but Madrid players were calling it to his attention.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said he did not notice the double kick in the process of the kick being taken, but in the replays “it seemed that there was a second touch with his left foot.”
Photo: Reuters
Atletico coach Diego Simeone said he did not see a double touch by the Argentina international, but wanted “to believe that if the VAR intervened, it’s because it saw something.”
Simeone said that he was yet to see an image that conclusively showed that Alvarez touched the ball twice.
“I’ve never seen the VAR called to review a penalty in a shootout... Never,” the Argentine told a news conference. “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.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
It was hard to tell from the images whether Alvarez’s standing left foot, which was the one that slipped, caused the first or the second touch on the ball.
According to the rules, after a first touch the penalty kicker “must not play the ball again until it has touched another player.”
If the infraction happens during the match, than an indirect free-kick is awarded to the opposing team. In a shoot-out, the goal does not count.
Photo: Reuters
Conor Gallagher scored less than 30 seconds into the match to give Atletico a 1-0 win after regulation and extra-time to leave the score 2-2 on aggregate. Madrid won the first leg 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium last week.
For Atletico, who have never won the top European club competition, it meant another excruciating setback against Madrid — the fifth consecutive loss against their city rivals.
Atletico lost two Champions League finals to Madrid — in 2014 and 2016 — and were eliminated the other two times they faced off in the knockout rounds — in the 2015 quarter-finals and the 2017 semi-finals.
Photo: AFP
“It hurts,” Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak said. “We played a great match, but unfortunately we were a bit unlucky. It’s a shame. It hurts a lot.”
Elsewhere, Arsenal also advanced along with Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund.
In London, Arsenal rested some regulars in a 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven to run up a 9-3 aggregate score.
Aston Villa also had a stress-free evening at home to ensure England has two teams in the quarter-finals, one night after Premier League leaders Liverpool were beaten at Anfield by Paris Saint-Germain in a shoot-out.
Villa won 3-0 against Club Brugge, who played with 10 men from the 17th minute, after a 3-1 win in Belgium last week. Brugge defender Kyriani Sabbe was sent off for pulling back Marcus Rashford when running clear on goal.
Substitute Marco Asensio, who is on loan at Aston Villa from PSG, scored twice in the second half to ensure that his temporary club is to meet his parent club next.
Borussia Dortmund rallied with two second-half goals to win 2-1 against Lille OSC and advance 3-2 on aggregate.
Additional reporting by Reuters and AP
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