Real Madrid overcame Atlético in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie to claim the upper hand in the tie, which will be settled on Wednesday 12 at the Metropolitano. Rodrygo gave Ancelotti’s side the lead after just four minutes and Julián Álvarez drew level in the 32nd minute. In the second half, Brahim made it 2-1 with a wonderful piece of skill.

The European champions raced into an early lead in the tie. After just four minutes, Valverde caught Galán by surprise with a precise pass to Rodrygo, who beat the Atlético defender on the run, cut inside from the right wing and fired home a beautifully struck left-footed strike. Two minutes later, the same players were involved again. Rodrygo again beat Galán for pace and when he entered the area he was pulled down by the defender. The Bernabéu screamed for a penalty, but referee Turpin was not interested.



As the minutes elapsed, Ancelotti’s men sought to widen the gap. In the 22nd minute, Vini Jr. had a shot from the edge of the area that Oblak caught, and on the half-hour mark, Rodrygo had a free-kick that almost beat the keeper. On 32', Atlético equalised when Julián Álvarez's angled drive from the edge of the area flew past Courtois. The two sides went into the break with the score at 1-1.

Brahim seals the win
Things remained the same after the restart until the 55th minute, when Brahim’s brilliant piece of skill gave the Whites the lead once again. The forward received the ball inside the area and was surrounded by defenders. He shifted his feet before finding a gap through which he struck a precise right-footed effort past Oblak and into the bottom corner of the goal. A fantastic goal from the Malaga-born man and it was 2-1 to Madrid.

Atlético countered, and five minutes later they almost equalised with a cross-shot from Griezmann that Courtois did well to keep out. From then until the end, the Madridistas were dominant and there were few chances in either area. The clearest chance came in stoppage time when Mbappé pulled the ball to Vini Jr., but Llorente was on hand to clear just as the Brazilian was preparing to shoot. The quarter-final berth will be decided on Wednesday 12 at the Metropolitano.