Brahim Diaz’s sensational strike powered Real Madrid to a 2-1 win over archrival Atletico Madrid, extending its dominance in the Madrid derby on Europe’s grandest stage in Tuesday’s Champions League round-of-16 first leg.
Atletico, still haunted by past heartbreaks against the 15-time European champion, has now won just three of 11 UEFA encounters with its city rival – including defeats in both Champions League finals.
Elsewhere, Arsenal all but booked a quarterfinal spot with a record-breaking 7-1 thrashing of PSV Eindhoven – the biggest away win in a Champions League knockout tie, according to UEFA.
“It’s a massive result away from home in a competition that we love, that we missed for so many years,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “Today is a really special night for us.”
It was a strong night for Premier League teams, as Aston Villa won 3-1 at Club Brugge and Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 with Lille.
A tense encounter in the Spanish capital was decided by a moment of individual brilliance. Diaz scored the winner for Real Madrid in the 55th minute after squeezing past two Atletico players and curling a low strike into the far corner.
Diego Simeone’s team could not change the script after losing the Champions League finals to Madrid in 2014 and 2016. Atletico was also eliminated the other two times they met in the knockout rounds – in the 2015 quarterfinals and 2017 semifinals.
Playing at home at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Real Madrid took the lead on its first chance with a superb goal from Rodrygo. After receiving a pass down the flank, he cut inside the box, outran defenders and curled the ball beautifully into the back of the net.
“It stemmed from a nice ball from Fede Valverde,” Rodrygo said. “He absolutely read my movement and put the ball in behind the man covering me. I made a little dribble inside and then smashed it off my left.”
Atletico patiently waited for an opportunity, and it came in the 32nd minute when Julián Álvarez seized it with a spectacular strike. The forward collected the ball down the left, cut inside the box and curled the ball past Thibaut Courtois for his seventh goal of the tournament.
“I leave with the feeling that we competed well,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. “We could have done more in terms of the goals we conceded. We must continue with this rhythm for the second leg, which will be tough and difficult, and in which we will have the support of our fans.”
Arsenal, which returned to the Champions League last season after a six-year absence, got off to a shaky start before Jurrien Timber scored against the run of play with a header at the far post, just after PSV hit the woodwork.
The London club never looked back after that and led 3-0 by the half-hour mark.
Seventeen-year-old Ethan Nwaneri doubled the lead in the 21st minute after his teammates combined well in the area to set him up. Mikel Merino then took advantage of confusion in the box to make it 3-0 after PSV repeatedly failed to clear the ball.
A reckless foul by Thomas Partey on Luuk de Jong in the box gave PSV some hope before halftime, and Noa Lang converted the penalty.
But PSV crumbled after the break. Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard scored twice, while Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori added to the rout.
Last season’s runner-up Borussia Dortmund remains evenly matched with Lille ahead of the second leg after Hákon Arnar Haraldsson’s goal salvaged a 1-1 draw for the French side.
Dortmund led thanks to Karim Adeyemi’s low shot from outside the box in the 22nd minute, but Canada forward Jonathan David sliced open the Dortmund defense with a through ball in the 68th minute for Haraldsson to level the score.
Aston Villa shook off its poor away form, largely due to an own goal from a Club Brugge defender.
The turning point came in the 82nd minute when Club Brugge defender Brandon Mechele beat his own goalkeeper with the teams tied 1-1. Mechele slid to stop a cross from Morgan Rogers but instead deflected it into the net.
Before that, the Belgian side had looked solid, enjoyed most of the possession and created the best chances in the second half.
Looking demoralized, the hosts then conceded a late penalty, which substitute Marco Asensio converted.
Villa had suffered two away defeats in the group stage, including one at Club Brugge. In the Premier League, the team has lost seven of 13 away matches.
The visitors needed less than three minutes to take the lead when Leon Bailey swept the ball home. Club Brugge leveled two minutes later when a long ball over Villa’s defenders found Christos Tzolis, who cut inside the area and delivered an excellent pass to an unmarked Maxim De Cuyper, who beat Emiliano Martinez with his left foot into the far corner.
On Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain will host Liverpool, Inter Milan will visit Feyenoord, Benfica will take on Barcelona, and Bayern Munich will welcome fellow German club Bayer Leverkusen.
