Real Madrid beats Atletico on penalties in Champions League. Arsenal, Villa, Dortmund also advance

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This article was published 12/03/2025 (202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid in a Champions League penalty shootout — again — to keep its title defense alive Wednesday and advance to the quarterfinals.

Defender Antonio Rüdiger scored the decisive spot-kick in a 4-2 shootout win after two Atletico players missed. Marco Llorente’s shot struck the bar after Julián Álvarez’s score despite slipping was disallowed on video review because he touched the ball twice.

Madrid also beat Atletico in a shootout to win the 2016 final — part of a streak of eliminating its city rival in the knockout rounds for four straight years. That hard-luck run started with the 2014 final when Atletico gave up an equalizing goal in stoppage time.

Madrid moves on to the quarterfinals to face Arsenal, which also advanced Wednesday along with Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund. The quarterfinals lineup was completed with Madrid’s win in a tense derby that had ended 2-2 on aggregate score.

Atletico led 1-0 after 90 minutes and extra time in a typically tenacious performance at its Metropolitano Stadium to cancel out Madrid’s 2-1 advantage from the first leg last week.

“When you get knocked out, it is not easy to digest,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said, “but I go out with a feeling of peace.”

Two key incidents defined regulation time. Atletico Madrid scored within 30 seconds and Real Madrid missed a penalty in the 70th minute.

Atletico took the lead with its first attack when England midfielder Conor Gallagher pounced on the ball from close range when a cross by Rodrigo De Paul was deflected into the goalmouth.

Madrid star Vinícius Júnior blazed a penalty kick high over the Atletico goal when he could have sent the 15-time champion through. He was substituted in extra time for his teenage fellow Brazilian, Endrick.

Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham stepped up to score Madrid’s first two spot-kicks, and Fede Valverde also scored before Lucas Vazquez’s kick was saved by Jan Oblak.

It was more relaxed in London, where 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 quarterfinals, one night after Premier League leader Liverpool was beaten at Anfield by Paris Saint-Germain in a shootout.

Villa won 3-0 against Club Brugge, which played with 10 men from the 17th, 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, on loan at Villa from PSG, scored twice in the second half to ensure his temporary club will meet his parent club next.

Borussia Dortmund rallied with two second-half goals to win 2-1 at Lille and advance 3-2 on aggregate. The beaten finalist last season now faces Barcelona.

Quarterfinals draw

The quarterfinals pairings are: Arsenal vs Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain vs. Aston Villa, Barcelona vs. Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan

First-leg games are on April 8-9 and return games are one week later.

England’s unexpected challenge

There’s only one former European champion from England left in the Champions League. Villa’s unbeaten home record has driven its run to the quarterfinal, with wins against Bayern, Bologna, Celtic and now Brugge.

Liverpool’s exit to PSG followed Manchester City being pushed out of the knockout playoffs last month by Real Madrid. Without the Champions League winners in 2019 and 2023, respectively, England’s challenge halved to just two.

Villa’s 1982 European Cup title is perhaps a less-remembered one in the competition’s 70-year history. Arsenal’s only time in the final was a loss to Barcelona in 2006.

Villa manager Unai Emery now goes back to Paris where his two seasons as coach there until 2018 seemed to be unsatisfactory for both parties.

Dortmund thrives in Europe

Just like last season, Borussia Dortmund is better in the Champions League than the German league.

The Bundesliga’s 10th-place team trailed Lille from the fifth minute to Canada forward Jonathan David’s shot, before rallying in the second half for a decisive 2-1 win. Dortmund leveled in the 54th from Emre Can’s penalty and Maximilian Beier sealed the victory nine minutes later with a rising shot.

Dortmund was the beaten finalist last June – losing 2-0 to Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium – and got into this Champions League only because Germany earned a bonus entry for fifth place in the Bundesliga.

Niko Kovač, the club’s third coach in the Champions League this season, now takes Dortmund to face former star forward Robert Lewandowski at Barcelona.

Top-5 leagues dominate

Expected exits for Brugge and PSV — after Benfica and Feyenoord were eliminated Tuesday — leaves only the five wealthiest leagues in Europe are now represented.

No team from outside England, Spain, Germany, Italy or France has reached the Champions League final since Porto coached by Jose Mourinho won in 2004.

UEFA will share almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) total prize money among the 36 Champions League teams this season and the 20% higher payouts this season figure to widen the wealth gap in European soccer. England and Spain also are in line for bonus fifth places in the Champions League next season, sending tens of millions more in prize money there.

Each quarterfinalist will get 12.5 million euros ($13.6 million). A place in the semifinals pays an extra 15 million euros ($16.3 million).

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer