How Carlo Ancelotti Almost Left Antonio Rudiger Out of the Game-Winning Penalty
Antonio Rudiger scored the game-winning penalty kick in the shootout that allowed Real Madrid to advance past Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night at Riyadh Air Metropolitanos.
Jan Oblak gave the home side hope after stopping the penalty from Lucas Vazquez. All the veteran goalkeeper needed to do was make one more stop to extend the shootout, and although Rudiger prevented that, the German nearly didn't step up to take the shot.
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Spanish football expert Guillem Balague told BBC Sport that someone else was supposed to take the last shot that Rudiger took.
Endrick had come on with the intention of taking the fifth penalty.
-Â Guillem Balague
🫂 Family 🫂 pic.twitter.com/iLflhSocMm
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 13, 2025
Balague noted that Ancelotti decided to pull the Brazilian at the last minute and opted for Rudiger to take the shot, which worked out for the Italian tactician.
Carlo Ancelotti looked at Endrick and thought he wasn't ready so asked Antonio Rudiger to take it. Oblak told me he saw it late and couldn't stop it.
-Â Guillem Balague
🥶 @ToniRuediger 🥶 pic.twitter.com/u0YYrMhHrg
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) March 13, 2025
Atletico Madrid failed to capitalize on Real Madrid's missed scoring chance and was unable to add a second goal after Conor Gallagher's early opener.
Despite the setback, Los Blancos pushed through and secured their spot in the next round. Carlo Ancelotti's squad now prepares for another Premier League test as they take on Arsenal in the knockout stage.
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Eduardo is an experienced freelance football writer covering Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSG On SI. He also covers PSG for PSG Talk and French football for Ligue 1's official English website. He's contributed to NBC Sports' regional sports networks, including NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, providing in-depth sports content for those markets.