Arsenal, Aston Villa, Real Madrid and Dortmund reach Champions League quarterfinals

 

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