Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham has expressed his delight after Los Blancos edged past Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last night.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side were 2-1 up from the first leg but the tie was level after just a minute, with Conor Gallagher finding the net.
With nothing to separate the two teams, penalties were required.
There was huge drama in the shootout, with Julian Alvarez’s spot-kick ruled out by VAR after the Argentine was adjudged to have kicked the ball twice.
Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham has expressed his delight after Los Blancos edged past Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last night
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Real got the job done in the end, with Antonio Rudiger scoring the winning penalty – despite the best efforts of Jan Oblak to thwart him.
After the game, Bellingham and his team-mates celebrated wildly at the home of their fierce rivals.
And the 21-year-old has now spoken out after the match, with the England international delighted that his side were able to go through.
“That’s sometimes what it takes, those moments of composure and poise. It’s not always the mad quality that you see from us,” he said.
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“There is a change of mentality when we come into these games, we know that there’s a certain way of winning games.
“We’re very good at that. We understand game situations really well, and tonight was another example.”
He continued: “Really happy. It’s a huge game for us to win.
“It’s massive for us, so important for us to get through at this stage. It will mean a lot to the fans because of who we were playing against.”
Julian Alvarez saw his penalty overturned in Atletico Madrid’s Champions League exit to Real Madrid last night
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Real will now lock horns with Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
That showdown has the makings of a classic, with both sides flying in Europe this term.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has blasted the decision to rule out Alvarez’s penalty.
“I just saw the image of the penalty,” he fumed.
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“The referee said that when Julián stepped and kicked, he touched the ball with his foot, but the ball didn’t move.
“That’s something to discuss about whether it was a goal or not, but I’m proud of my players.”
When quizzed further, Simeone added: “When he plants his foot and kicks, the ball doesn’t move even a little bit.
“But if VAR called it, I’ve never seen a penalty called by VAR, but it’s still valid, and they’ll have seen that he touched it.
Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham joined in the celebrations after the LaLiga titans knocked Atletico Madrid out of the Champions League
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“I want to believe they’ll have seen that he touched it.”
Real are next in action against Villarreal in LaLiga on Saturday (5.30pm).
As for Atletico, Simeone’s men are poised to face Barcelona the following day (8pm).