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Steve McManaman Believes Real Madrid Had 'Chunk of Luck' Against Atletico Madrid

Real Madrid didn't have to be the best team against Atletico Madrid.

Eduardo Razo

IMAGO / Guillermo Martinez

Real Madrid had luck on their side, and lots of it, as they defeated city rival Atletico Madrid in a penalty kick shootout after the aggregate score was tied on Wednesday night at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

Conor Gallagher opened the scoring seconds into the second leg. However, after that opening goal, all the luck shone on Real Madrid's side, allowing them to advance.

MORE: Transcript: Carlo Ancelotti's Post-Match Press Conference Following Real Madrid's Penalty Shootout Win

The Colchoneros couldn't find that second goal to win the tie during the 90 minutes. At the same time, Carlo Ancelotti's side overcame Vinicius Jr. missing a penalty kick and received luck in the penalty kick shootout with Julian Alvarez touching the ball twice on his shot and Marcos Llorente hitting the crossbar.

Former Real Madrid winger Steve McManaman stated on TNT Sports that all the luck was on Los Blancos' side in the 120 minutes and the shootout (via BBC).

Sometimes, you need a huge chunk of luck to go through. Real Madrid have had luck in spades tonight. Julian Alvarez slipping, an irregular kick disallowed. Antonio Rudiger sneaking in the last kick. Just wow. They got away with it.

Real Madrid once again got past Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and will now take on another Premier League side, Arsenal, led by Spanish manager Mikel Arteta.

The Spanish club already knocked out Manchester City and will aim to take down a second Premier League team in the quarterfinals.

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Eduardo Razo
EDUARDO RAZO

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.

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