5️⃣ things from Wednesday's thrilling Champions League action | OneFootball

The Champions League is down to the final eight teams after Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid battled it out over 120 minutes before

Here's what we made of the action.

Rüdiger sends Atleti out after most dramatic shoot-out

📸 Florencia Tan Jun - 2025 Getty Images

It was a tense penalty shoot out even for the neutral.

Two sides from the same city, with Atleti having never beaten their bitter rivals in Champions League action.

A scored penalty from Julian Álvarez cancelled out by VAR for a double kick, misses from Marcos Llorente and Lucas Vásquez made this as dramatic as they come.

Up stepped Antonio Rüdiger, a central defender, knowing if he scored that the tie was over.

Jan Oblak got a hand to it, but the power on the shot was so strong that it continued into the back of the net.

A quarter-final clash with Arsenal awaits the holders of the competition.

Can they go all the way again?

Asensio super-sub

📸 Julian Finney - 2025 Getty Images

Aston Villa's loan signing of Marco Asensio from PSG in January has turned out to be a masterstroke.

His brace after coming on as a substitute against Club Brugge tonight took his tally to seven goals in his last five games across all competitions, a figure that included three against the Belgian side.

And Asensio's supersub exploits in the Champions League began way before he joined Villa, with his current total of 12 goals as a substitute in the competition more than any other player in the competition's history.

Lightning quick Gallagher sets the Metropolitano alight

📸 JAVIER SORIANO - AFP or licensors

Atlético de Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher was left out of the side in the first leg defeat to cross-city rivals Real Madrid last week, but was given the nod by boss Diego Simeone for the return at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

And that decision paid off within 27 seconds as the Englishman slid in to guide the ball home, putting the aggregate score level at 2-2 before the away side had time to blink.

In doing so, the man affectionately named 'El Pitbull' by Atleti supporters became the fastest Champions League goal ever scored by an Englishman, and the quickest UCL strike in the clubs' history too, all with his first ever in the competition.

No wonder he's popular with the fans.

Vini misses for the first time...in some style

📸 JAVIER SORIANO - AFP or licensors

Real Madrid had the chance to score a potential winner with the aggregate score poised at 2-2, when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Kylian Mbappé in the 70th minute.

Up stepped Vinícius Júnior, who had previously netted seven from seven spot-kicks for Real Madrid, a reliable penalty taker if ever there was one.

Whether he slipped, or just didn't make the right contact with the ball was unclear, but the Brazilian sent his kick well wide and high of the target, to the delight of the home supporters.

And to make matters worse, boss Carlo Ancelotti subbed him out before the end of extra time, leaving him with no opportunity to put things right in the shoot out.

Dortmund show a different side in Europe

📸 FRANCOIS LO PRESTI - AFP or licensors

Borussia Dortmund are struggling in the Bundesliga, sitting 10th with 10 defeats in their 25 games so far this season.

But in the Champions League, they are a different prospect, overcoming a 2-1 deficit in their tie against Lille to register a 3-2 win and make it through to the quarter-final.

Having replaced Nuri Sahin at the end of January, boss Niko Kovač took control of the side with a top record away from home in the Champions League. With the win over Lille, the former Wolfsburg boss won six and drawn two of his eight UCL games, with only Louis Van Gaal (14), Pep Guardiola and Erik ten Hag (11 each) on a longer streak.

Maybe focusing on Europe is the best they can hope for in 2025.

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