Julian Alvarez's reported comments after controversial penalty decision in Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid UCL tie surfaces
Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez was left flummoxed by the decision to rule out his penalty in the shootout against Real Madrid on Wednesday, March 12. The Argentina international was adjudged to have executed a double kick, leading his effort to be ruled out during the shootout.
Following an impressive showing over two legs, former Manchester City man Alvarez stepped up to take the fourth kick of the shootout against Real Madrid. He appeared to slip as he approached the ball but managed to put the ball into the roof of the net.
Referee Szymon Marciniak, however, chalked off the effort as the VAR reviewed and adjudged that Alvarez had kicked the ball twice.
Marca reports that Julian Alvarez found the decision to be unbelievable after he learned of the ruling from the officials. The 25-year-old told teammates in the dressing room that he did not feel like he had touched the ball twice in the process of firing it past Thibaut Courtois.
"I didn't feel like I touched the ball twice," he is alleged to have said.
Alvarez's 'miss' sparked a flurry of misses, as Real Madrid captain Lucas Vazquez followed suit with a poorly-struck effort which was saved by Jan Oblak. Marcos Llorente also struck the crossbar with a fierce drive from the spot before Antonio Rudiger squeezed the decisive penalty past Oblak.
Real Madrid had Julian Alvarez to thank for the tide turning firmly in their favor, as they booked their place in the last eight of the competition. They will now face Arsenal for a place in the semifinals, while their rivals will turn their attention to domestic competitions.
Simeone defiant about Julian Alvarez penalty against Real Madrid
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has questioned the decision to rule out Julian Alvarez's effort in the shootout against Real Madrid. The Argentine manager defended his countryman, pointing out that his inadvertent touch did not cause the ball to move.
Speaking at a press conference after the game, Simeone revealed that he had looked at the images of the incident and noticed no movement from the ball. He went on to laud his players for how they performed in the game, stating that he was proud of how they competed.
Simeone said (via ESPN):
"I've just seen the images, the referee says Julián touches the ball with his supporting leg but the ball doesn't move. That's debatable, whether it was a goal or not. But I'm proud of my players, I'm honestly happy because we competed in an exemplary way."
"When Julián kicks [the penalty], the ball doesn't even move a bit. I imagine that they called the VAR and saw that he touched it. I want to believe that they'll have seen that he touched it."
Diego Simeone appeared defiant in defeat, even after Antonio Rudiger scored the winning penalty for Real Madrid. He went about rallying the crestfallen Wanda Metropolitano crowd to give his players the encouragement he felt they deserved for coming to the brink of a win.
