Real Madrid narrowly advanced to a Champions League quarter-final matchup against Arsenal after defeating city rivals Atletico in a highly contentious penalty shootout.

Following an early goal from former Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, which equalized the scores on aggregate, former Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez successfully converted his kick, making the shootout score 2-2. However, VAR officials ruled that he had touched the ball twice during his attempt.

Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, and Antonio Rudiger all found the net for Real in the shootout, with Rudiger’s shot sneaking past Jan Oblak to secure the victory for his team.

Julian Alvarez collapsed to the ground after his kick (Image: AP).

Atletico surged ahead early in the match, leveling the aggregate score just 27 seconds into the second leg thanks to Gallagher, who set three records with a single strike.

Rodrigo De Paul’s delivery from the right was flicked on by Giuliano Simeone, allowing Gallagher to burst in and slot the ball past Thibaut Courtois from close range, igniting the Wanda Metropolitano crowd.

Gallagher’s strike was the quickest ever netted by an Englishman in the Champions League and also marked Atletico’s fastest Champions League goal, as well as Gallagher’s initial goal in European competitions.

At the other end, Vinicius Jr. sought a penalty, believing Simeone had handled the ball in the box, but the Brazilian would instead face penalty disappointment with 20 minutes left in normal time.

Conor Gallagher opened the scoring just 27 seconds into the second leg (Image: Europa Press via Getty Images).

A swift Real Madrid attack saw Bellingham pass to Mbappe, who dribbled past two Atletico defenders before being brought down by his fellow countryman Clement Lenglet.

Interestingly, Mbappe—who had missed a penalty against Liverpool during the group stage—allowed Vinicius to take the spot kick, but the Brazilian skied his attempt high and wide, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Arsenal reached the quarter-finals after complementing their 7-1 first-leg victory against PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands with a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium, where Oleksandr Zinchenko and Declan Rice scored for Mikel Arteta’s revamped squad.