Ancelotti relieved as Real beat old rivals Atletico on penalties, Arsenal ease through

Aston Villa cruise into quarters where PSG await, second-half comeback sees Dortmund overcome Lille

Real Madrid fans and players celebrated their hard-fought win against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night to earn a quarterfinal berth in the Champions League, but manager Carlo Ancelotti was more relieved than rapturous at what he said was a subpar performance.

Real secured the victory 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after the tie ended 2-2 in aggregate as the defending champions bid for a record-extending 16th European Cup win.

Ancelotti was disappointed Real conceded a goal inside the first minute that levelled the tie after Real had secured a 2-1 first-leg advantage at home last week.

He urged his players to be sharper as they prepare to face Arsenal for a place in the semis.

“I have tried to explain to my players that the priority was not to make the game more complicated than it already was,” Ancelotti said.

“We made it more difficult by losing unnecessary balls that constantly found us out of position. If they scored 2-0, then the game could have got out of control

“We played better as the game progressed, had our chances, but we need to improve in our focus and concentration. We always have to look for improvement.

“The tie was evenly matched and a mistake could have been costly. We wanted to finish the game before penalties, sure, but here we are, still fighting and in contention, as is customary at this club.” 

Real's win came in an enthralling last-16 tie at Atletico's Wanda Metropolitano home ground in Madrid. Antonio Ruediger converted the winning spot-kick after Real's second-leg match finished 1-0 to Atletico thanks to an early goal from midfielder Conor Gallagher.

Also on Wednesday night, Arsenal eased into the quarterfinals with a 9-3 aggregate victory over PSV Eindhoven after a 2-2 draw in the second leg at Emirates Stadium on London.

Progress was already a formality for the Gunners after their stunning 7-1 victory in the Netherlands last week and when Oleksandr Zinchenko blasted them ahead in the fifth minute, PSV would have feared another hammering.

Ivan Perisic replied for the visitors though with a sublime finish in the 18th minute to give the thousands of boisterous PSV fans something to cheer.

Declan Rice headed Arsenal back in front from Raheem Sterling's cross before half time but PSV earned a deserved reward for a vastly-improved display as Couhaib Driouech chipped in a 70th-minute leveller.

Aston Villa marched into the quarters with an easy 3-0 win over 10-man Club Brugge in their second leg at Villa Park in Birmingham, giving them a 6-1 aggregate victory and setting up a far tougher task next against Paris St Germain.

Trailing 3-1 from the home leg, Brugge actually began the tie better and gave Villa some early scares, but they faced an impossible challenge after Kyriani Sabbe was sent off for pulling down Marcus Rashford while through on goal in the 16th minute.

Unai Emery's team took full advantage in the second half, Marco Asensio swivelling and scoring from close range in the 50th minute after a pass from fellow substitute Leon Bailey.

Ian Maatsen side-footed Villa's second goal with the help of a deflection seven minutes later, before Asensio swept home in the 61st minute from a cutback by the marauding Rashford, to the joy of a packed and bouncing Villa Park.

Back in Europe's elite competition for the first time in more than four decades, Villa will have to be at their absolute best to beat French champions PSG who knocked out high-flying Liverpool on penalties at Anfield on Tuesday. 

Borussia Dortmund reached the last eight for the second year in a row as second-half goals by Emre Can and Maximilian Beier gave them a 2-1 win at Lille for a 3-2 aggregate victory.

Can scored from the penalty spot to cancel out Jonathan David's early opener before Beier scored the winner as the German side, who finished runners-up last season, wrapped up a deserved victory.

They will face Barcelona for a place in the semifinals.

It was a cruel end for Lille, who had qualified directly from the league phase by finishing in the top eight, thanks to notable victories over Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. 

Wednesday’s Uefa Champions League last 16 second leg results:

Arsenal 2 PSV Eindhoven 2

Arsenal win 9-3 on aggregate

Atletico Madrid 1 Real Madrid 0

Aggregate — 1-1, Real won 4-2 on penalties

Aston Villa 3 Club Brugge 0

Villa win 6-1 on aggregate

LOSC Lille 1 Dortmund 2

Dortmund win 3 — 2 on aggregate

Quarterfinals (SA times)

First legs

April 8:

• Arsenal v Real Madrid (9pm)
• Bayern Munich v Inter Milan (9pm)

April 9:

• Paris St Germain v Aston Villa (9pm)
• Barcelona v Dortmund (9pm)

Second legs

April 15:

• Aston Villa v Paris Saint-Germain (9pm)
• Dortmund v Barcelona (9pm)

April 16:

• Real Madrid v Arsenal (9pm)
• Inter Milan v Bayern Munich (9pm)

Reuters