Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger had to beat Jan Oblak with his penalty shoot to advance Los Blancos to the Champions League quarterfinals versus Arsenal. However, controversy erupted after Julian Alvarez’s penalty kick was disallowed.
following Diego Simeone’s team fell behind following the first leg, which ended 2-1 in favour of the Santiago Bernabeu team, midfielder Conor Gallagher’s goal in the first minute started and concluded the scoring on Wednesday night during the 120 minutes of play.
Before Alexander Sorloth could level the score from the penalty spot, Kylian Mbappe took the initiative to convert first. Jude Bellingham, the Real Madrid poster child, finished adorablely before 25-year-old Alvarez followed the beaten route from the halfway line to the 18-yard box.
The Argentine talisman stepped up and tucked his penalty home when referee Szymon Marciniak blew his whistle, causing the home contingent to gasp in collective relief. However, the joy soon gave way to sorrow.
Álvarez's penalty is overturned by VAR after a double touch 😳
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Alvarez thought he had scored his shot from 12 yards out as Thibaut Courtois dove the wrong way, but he slipped in the process. The Wanda Metropolitano’s home crowd may not have realised it, but VAR stepped in and the goal was chalked out for a double touch. Additionally, a player cannot do so in accordance with IFAB’s rules and regulations.
The ball must touch another player before the kicker can play it again.
Since Alvarez, who was once a member of River Plate, his boyhood club, and Premier League powerhouse Manchester City, touched the ball twice, the penalty was deemed invalid when VAR intervened and alerted the man in the centre.
Federico Valverde was next in line after the drama surrounding the all-action penalty shootout. The Uruguayan shooter hammered his attempt home before Atletico Madrid’s Angel Correa did the same.
Then came two misses, one from each side, as Marcos Llorente and Lucas Vazquez failed to take advantage of their respective openings. As previously stated, Rudiger was available to convert the final spot kick, much to his teammates’ joy.
As mentioned, Ancelotti’s team, the reigning champions of Europe’s top competition, will play Mikel Arteta’s team in the two-leg quarterfinals in an attempt to maintain their position as the best team on the continent.
