After the two teams couldn’t be separated after two legs and extra time, Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid in a nail-biting penalty shootout on away turf at the Metropolitano, defeating their local rivals 4-2.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team won’t have wanted to start slowly at an intimidating Metropolitano relic after defeating their local rivals 2-1 on home turf last week to set up a mouthwatering second leg, with eyes on the outcome around Europe. With tifos and a red wall of noise, the opening sequence was filled with loud noises, and the Atleti supporters will never forget the heartbreak they suffered at the hands of its capital rivals in this particular competition over the years.
Diego Simeone’s team exploded out of the starting blocks, and after just 27 seconds, they tied the score on aggregate, fuelled by the thought that they were only one goal behind and had home advantage to boot. The ball broke sweetly in the middle of the park due to strong running, and once it had made its way out to Rodrigo de Paul, his cross eluded everyone until finding its way to Conor Gallagher, who hooked it past a defenceless Thibaut Courtois. For the adoring fans seated inside the arena that hosted the 2019 final, it was the ideal beginning—rapturous, energising, and yearning for more.
The remainder of the first half went pretty much as planned; Vinicius Jr., to his credit, attempted to force the game on the home team, but his unimpressive teammates were not helping him, and Julian Alvarez was keeping Courtois busy with two blistering goals that stung the Belgian’s palms. The Colchoneros appeared to desire the win more, even if they were delighted to give up possession, but the scores were tied going into halftime.
At the hour mark, you would have favoured Atletico to alter the tide of the match, but you can’t write Los Blancos out. Ferland Mendy was having a hard time against the vivacious Giuliano Simeone, the Atleti manager’s son. During a rare counterattack, Kylian Mbappe dribbled between Clement Lenglet and Jose Gimenez, who then brought him down in the area. With 20 minutes remaining, Vinicius grabbed the ball away from the Frenchman from 12 yards out. However, the Brazilian discovered Row Z. The home crowd was full of jeers, which only served to infuriate them more when Simeone was stopped by Courtois, who was playing well.
After 180 minutes of exhausting football, they were unable to be separated, and the game went into extra time. However, Angel Correa’s arrival brought the game to life as he blazed over minutes after entering the field.
Additional Time and Penalties
Before Antonio Rudiger’s last-ditch interception stopped Correa’s cross into the box, he dazzled once more. From that point on, the game became more intense as both teams fought for the victory. As Mbappe and Vinicius waited for a cut-back, Federico Valverde’s ball simply fizzed across the box, and it was clear that both teams were exhausted.
There was only one half-chance for Mbappe to cut inside Gimenez as both teams tried to run out time, but the veteran star held firm and we headed to penalties. Mbappe and Alexander Sorloth gave both teams their first penalties, and things kept going that way until Alvarez fell and double-touched his penalty to mark a “illegal kick” even though he had scored.
Jan Oblak stopped Lucas Vazquez’s fourth penalty attempt for Real Madrid, but Marcos Llorente missed it by banging it against the crossbar, giving Rudiger the opportunity to win the match. Somehow, he managed to get it past Oblak to give Real the narrowest, most desperate of margins.
Real Madrid
Data
Real Madrid
8.
Targeted shots
3.
7.
Off-target shots
4.
38
Ownership (%)
62
10.
The corners
10.
11.
Fouls
16
4.
Cards
3.
Goals and Highlights of the Match
Atletico Madrid Player Ratings
Jan Oblak: 6 out of 10.
didn’t do much other than claim crosses while standing tall and dominating Real Madrid’s comparatively small team. They didn’t work with the Slovenian, and he normally gets tested on Champions League evenings in the latter stages, but that wasn’t the case at home, particularly when Vinicius scored a penalty.
Llorente Marcos: 7/10
Despite Vinicius’s cunning and straightforward robustness, it was wise to stop him early. The adaptable star has been a key member of Atleti in recent years, and tonight’s matchup with his previous employers was no exception.
Jose Gimenez: 7 out of 10.
The head of the defensive pack, the last guy, and the brawn—he was up to the challenge and beyond. It was clear on the evening that he has been with the team for more than ten years and has undoubtedly taken on more responsibilities in recent seasons.
Lenglet Clement: 6/10
He was incredibly strong defensively overall, albeit he might have scored late in the first half with a header off an Antoine Griezmann corner. A menace as deadly as Mbappe, whom he fouled for the penalty, must be avoided, though. Despite the criticism he has received over the years, Simeone will be pleased with his performance.
Reinildo: 6 out of 10.
scored lower than his defence teammates, but it was only because he didn’t have much job to do. The Mozambican international found it very easy to defend Real Madrid because most of their action was either through Federico Valverde’s crosses or Luka Modric or Vinicius. may have made a more offensive contribution.
Simeone Giuliano: 8/10
He delivered the ball on a silver platter for the Englishman by allowing Gallagher to pick up the space behind for the first goal. Given his background under his father and current boss, he will have learnt to always give his all, and he did just that all night. Ferland Mendy was forced into defensive blunder after defensive error by the Argentine’s energetic performance, and his pace undoubtedly caused issues.
6/10 for Rodrigo De Paul
Gallagher turned a fantastic ball across the box home. The former Udinese player’s cross was successful inside a minute, demonstrating his technical skill and perseverance to flourish in Atletico’s midfield. Maybe more could have been done to impact the game throughout.
Pablo Barrios: 7 out of 10.
A lesser-known performer from the renowned Simeone era, yet the indigenous talent gave a fantastic performance. One fan called him “cathedral-like” for the way he tackled, pressed, and held his own against such a talented midfield, and it was easy to understand why.
8/10 for Conor Gallagher
An impressive beginning for the Englishman. His first-ever Champions League goal came within 30 seconds when he pounced quickest in the area to square the score and throw the Metropolitano into a frenzy. What a moment and location to score it. With Simeone as his coach, he is a match made in heaven, even though he struggled to establish himself at Chelsea. His pressuring was also excellent.
7/10 for Antoine Griezmann
was committed to the game right away, and Diego Simeone would have benefited much from his experience. It was difficult and urgent, and from a decision-making perspective, knowing when to stay and launch a counterattack was ideal.
Julian Alvarez: 7 out of 10.
Lively, and regrettably, they failed to score despite two stinging attempts that Courtois stopped. After leaving Manchester City, he rose to prominence in the city, leaving their local rivals reeling.
Samuel Lino, SUB – 5/10
came in for Gallagher just before the conclusion of extra time to get some fresh legs.
Angel Correa, SUB – 6/10
Before getting an assist in the first period of extra time, he came very close to scoring a fantastic winner in the final seconds. A fantastic gameplay enhancement.
Alexander Sorloth, SUB – 4/10
In La Liga, the former Crystal Palace failure has been successful, although he struggled in the last 30 minutes.
Nahuel Molina, SUB – 4/10
entered in stoppage time to replace Rodrigo De Paul.
Robin Le Normand, SUB – 4/10
At the beginning of the extra session, he replaced the carded Lenglet at centre-back.
Cesar Azpilicueta, SUB – 4/10
With 20 seconds remaining in extra time, the Premier League legend replaced Reinildo to strengthen the defensive.
Player Ratings for Real Madrid
7/10 for Thibaut Courtois
There wasn’t much he could do about the first goal, and he kept his team ahead on aggregate with a great stop from Alvarez shortly before the half, then repeated the feat at the interval. His ability to block shots is unmatched, and he did manage to keep his team in the game before to halftime.
6/10 for Federico Valverde
The Uruguayan fared well after that, especially when he was out of his regular position, but he allowed Gallagher get off to a start that was not his preferred one. Atletico did attempt a few good drilled crosses and deliveries into the box, but to little avail, and most of his attacks came down the opposing flank.
Raul Asencio: 6 out of 10.
Asencio has performed well since rising through the youth ranks as a result of the injury issue, and tonight was no exception. He was another player who was caught up in the opener. In order to limit Atleti’s offensive options, he held up effectively and made key crucial tackles.
5/10 for Antonio Rudiger
Rudiger, a normally dangerous defender, wasn’t very well away at Atletico. After the opener, he was also the target of cameras sweeping in his direction, and the German was caught scuttling more times than he would have liked to trail Alvarez. However, he did score the winning penalty after making a fantastic clearing early in the first half of extra time.
Ferland Mendy: 4 out of 10.
The goal came from down his side, and he was targeted right away. Although Vinicius is primarily a defensive pawn due to his attacking prowess, he was put to the test on a difficult night in the capital, appearing out of position and slipping on an unforgettable evening as he left with what appeared to be an injury issue.
5/10 for Aurelien Tchouameni
Griezmann was given a warning for a foul shortly before halftime, and the goal was partially caused by his absence in the middle of the park. It wasn’t the Frenchman’s day because of other careless errors, such blocking a header from Bellingham in the attacking area. Reserved.
Luka Modric: 6 out of 10.
Although the Croatian’s career is coming to an end, he still had flashes of genius that demonstrated why he has been the world’s best centre midfielder for the previous ten years. He could have been taken aback by Atletico’s first goal in a physical sense, but he was one of their more intelligent players when things got hard.
Rodrygo: 5 out of 10.
On the right, anonymous. He just managed one dribble, no crosses or shots, and appeared to be pushed too far out to the right to make any kind of difference, according to Sofascore.
Jude Bellingham: 5.0 out of 10.
Bellingham cannot be written off. Even after such a lacklustre first half hour, it is difficult to condemn him till the very end since he can pull off so many clutch situations, as we have witnessed for England, Real Madrid, Dortmund, and Birmingham City over the years. But he looked so incompetent the entire time and was so terrible tonight.
Vinicius Jr.: 6 out of 10.
By far Real’s liveliest player. As soon as they had started, he wanted to cause some trouble for the home team in an effort to reverse the trend and put an end to the festivities in the Metropolitano. Although it wasn’t entirely successful, he did manage to keep Marcos Llorente rushing early. However, that penalty is unacceptable. He drops a grade with a proper Row Z effort.
Kylian Mbappe: 6 out of 10.
With the ball at his feet, he did little to influence the game and instead spent most of the first half searching for fouls and making handball claims. Atletico’s early goal didn’t help the Frenchman, who has been on fire lately and will be among Real Madrid’s best chances to win the cup. With a crazy run, he did get a penalty, but Vinicius was unable to convert it.
Lucas Vazquez, SUB – 4/10
With less than 30 minutes remaining, he was introduced for Modric, but his inventiveness was lacking.
Eduardo Camavinga, SUB – 4/10
imposed his authority on the game by replacing Tchouameni, who was carrying a booking.
Brahim Diaz, SUB – 5/10
Although his attempts were directed directly at Oblak, the Morocco international was brought in for Rodrygo in an attempt to generate some excitement down the right. At least he was a bright spot for a quiet Madrid team.
Fran Garcia, SUB – 5/10
On the left, the young player outperformed Mendy and performed admirably during such a heated exchange.
Endrick, SUB – 3/10
replaced Vinicius in the attack with five seconds remaining.
Man of the Match
Simeone Giuliano
Simeone put on a tireless show that saw him effortlessly dismantle the Real tactical shape when his father most needed him. His constant pressure, quick pace, and teamwork nearly overshadowed his actual ballwork, which gave Atleti numerous chances.
Although he may not be the most talented football player, he makes up for it with hard work and perseverance, which are characteristics of all Simeones, whether it was his father or himself. He was crucial in holding Real Madrid at bay, and after fighting until the very end, he defeated Gallagher for the best player award.
