Why was Julian Alvarez's penalty ruled out in Atletico Madrid's shootout loss to Real Madrid? Details come to light

Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez was involved in a moment of controversy during his side's penalty shootout against Real Madrid as his effort was ruled out by the VAR. This turned out to be a major turning point, and Real Madrid went on to claim a 4-2 win over their rivals.

Former Manchester City man Alvarez stepped up to take the fourth kick of the shootout after all of Kylian Mbappe, Alexander Sorloth, and Jude Bellingham had scored theirs. The Argentina international appeared to slip just before he hit the ball, but managed to fire an effort into the roof of the net.

Federico Valverde stepped up to take the next kick for Real Madrid, but the shootout was paused as the VAR reviewed Alvarez's effort. Upon examination, it was observed that the Atletico Madrid forward's standing foot had hit the ball ever so slightly as he slipped, before he took the shot. As a result, the effort was ruled out for a double kick by the referee, handing the advantage to Los Blancos.

Carlo Ancelotti's side took full advantage, and were recipients of good fortune as they came out on top with a 4-2 win. Los Blancos progress to the quarterfinals of the competition, where Premier League outfit Arsenal await them next month.

Real Madrid edge Atletico Madrid to book quarterfinal ticket

Reigning champions Real Madrid booked their place in the last eight of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League after eliminating rival Atletico Madrid on penalties. Los Blancos claimed a 4-2 shootout win after the game ended 2-2 across two legs between the LaLiga giants.

With a 2-1 advantage from the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu in hand, Real Madrid were not allowed to settle after kickoff at the Wanda Metropolitano before they found themselves behind. Conor Gallagher slid home a cross from Rodrigo de Paul less than 30 seconds into the game, equalising for Atletico Madrid and levelling the tie on aggregate.

Both sides pushed each other throughout, but Vinicius Jr missed a gilt-edged chance to put his side ahead in the 70th minute. The Brazil international fired a penalty kick high and wide after Kylian Mbappe was brought down in the box by Clement Lenglet. Neither side managed to score for the remainder of regulation time and extra-time, leading to a penalty shootout.

Julian Alvarez's 'miss' was the first of the shootout, before both Lucas Vazquez and Marcos Llorente failed to score for Real and Atleti, respectively. Antonio Rudiger squeezed home the last kick of the shootout to send Los Blancos into the last eight at the expense of their rivals.