Arsenal will take on Champions League champions Real Madrid in the quarter-final following a penalty shoot-out thriller at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Atletico Madrid won the game 1-0 on the night thanks to Conor Gallagher’s early goal. The tie went to penalties, which Real Madrid won 4-2 after Antonio Rudiger scored the decisive penalty.
However, the outcome wasn’t without its controversy. After Kylian Mbappe, Alexander Sorloth and Jude Bellingham scored their spot-kicks, Julian Alvarez stepped-up to make it 2-2.
The former Manchester City forward squeezed his penalty under the roof to level. But just as Federico Valverde was about to take his penalty, referee Szymon Marciniak halted play.
VAR then informed the Polish official that Alvarez’s penalty struck a double touch meaning it would not count. It meant that the Argentina international’s penalty was voided. Antonio Rudiger would go on to score the decisive spot-kick to set-up a meeting with Arsenal.
Alvarez’s penalty was overturned because rules state that penalties can not strike both feet. Alvarez’s right-footed penalty rebounded off his left-foot as he slipped.
Speaking on CBS Sports, former referee Christina Unkel revealed that the impact sensor in the ball used for the semi-automated VAR technology would have sensed the extra touch from Alvarez.
It means Atletico crash out of the tournament to their arch rivals. It’s the first time Arsenal will meet Real Madrid since the last 16 clash in 2006, which is famously remembered for Thierry Henry’s historic goal at the Santiago Bernebau.