"Complete dogs**t performance","Have been diabolical" - Fans slam Real Madrid duo despite pen shootout win over Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid fans on social media have called out Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior despite their qualification for the quarterfinals of the UCL. Madrid secured a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Atletico Madrid following a 2-2 aggregate scoreline in a two-legged round of 16 tie.

During the second leg, Conor Gallagher opened the scoring for Atletico following a pass from Rodrigo de Paul in the first minute of the game. Thibaut Courtois made two excellent saves to deny Julian Alvarez from doubling Atletico's lead in the 25th and 39th minutes, respectively.

In the 68th minute, Clement Lenglet fouled Mbappe in the box, and Real Madrid were awarded a penalty by referee Szymon Marciniak. However, Vinicius squandered the opportunity to give Los Blancos the lead as he blazed his spot-kick over the bar in the 70th minute.

Despite both teams' desire to snatch a late win, the game headed into extra time. The 30 minutes of extra time was not full of action, as both teams appeared to be conservative, leading to a penalty shootout.

Alvarez's remarkable penalty was ruled out for double touch during the shootout after the VAR's intervention. This arguably gave Los Blanços an edge, which they leveraged.

After Lucas Vazquez and Marcos Llorente missed Madrid and Atletico's fourth, Antonio Rudiger sealed the shootout victory for Madrid, having scored Real's fifth spot-kick.

However, some Los Blancos supporters appeared to be displeased with Mbappe and Vinicius's performance during the game. The Frenchman failed to register a shot on target against Atletico. He maintained a passing accuracy of 94% (30/32), won one penalty, and was successful in only one out of seven attempted dribbles (via Sofascore).

Meanwhile, Vinicius missed a crucial penalty that could have probably sealed the victory for Los Blancos in normal time. In his stint, the Brazilian maintained a 77% (27/35) passing accuracy, delivered one key pass, and registered one shot on target (via Sofascore).

In the game's after, fans trooped to X to vent their frustration with the duo's performance, with one tweeting:

"Mbappe and vini another complete dogs**t performance too but they’ll score against getafe and all will be forgiven lowest standards ever."

"Vini Jr and Mbappe will lose the ball and walk. Nonsense.," another added.

"Difficult to say but I must, Mbappe and Vini can't coexist. Two captains can't control a ship. Vini plays as if he owns RM.," a fan opined.

"We can’t have this underwhelming performance in the next round. Vini and Mbappe need to get their shit together abeg," another said.

"But what has Mbappe and Vini done tonight?," a fan asked.

"Mbappé (apart from winning his penalty) and Vini in these two legs have been diabolical. Best in the world players HAVE TO turn up more in these games," wrote another.

"We weren't sure" Real Madrid's manager on Antonio Rudiger's match-winning penalty

Atletico de Madrid v Real Madrid C.F. - UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 Second Leg - Source: Getty

Real Madrid's manager has revealed that he and his team weren't sure of who their fifth penalty taker would be during the shootout against Atletico. However, he opted for Rudiger due to the defender's confidence.

In a post-match conference after the victory against Atletico, Ancelotti was asked about his decision for Madrid's fifth penalty-taker. He said (via Madrid Xtra):

"The 5th penalty taker? We weren't sure. We wanted Endrick. When I told Endrick he was taking the shot, I didn't see him so happy. So we chose Rüdiger, he's more cold."

Real Madrid will take on Arsenal in the quarterfinals, having eliminated Atletico in the round of 16.