A slip, a double touch, a missed penalty! 

This is one way to describe how Atletico Madrid's Champions League dreams came crashing down once again at the hands of their arch rivals, Real Madrid.

The defining moment arose in the penalty shootout when Julian Alvarez lost his footing. As he struck the ball, his slip caused an unintended double touch—an infraction that VAR swiftly confirmed. The goal, which would have levelled the shootout at 2-2, was disallowed. With momentum on their side, Real Madrid surged ahead 3-1 and sealed a 4-2 win, booking a quarterfinal spot and keeping their title hopes alive.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone said he didn’t see a double touch by the Argentina international, he stated, "The ball didn't move." "I want to believe they saw he touched it (twice).”

“It hurts,” Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak stated. “We played a great match, but unfortunately we were a bit unlucky. It's a shame. It hurts a lot.”

Simeone didn't want to blame the elimination on bad luck.

“I wouldn’t talk about luck. I would talk about feeling proud of the team that we have and about how we always compete," Simeone said. “Madrid has always beaten us in the Champions League, but they have always suffered. I'm sure they'll always remember that.”

According to the rule, after the first touch, the penalty taker cannot play the ball again until it touches another player. If this violation occurs during the match, the opposing team is awarded an indirect free kick. In a shootout, the goal is disallowed.

Atletico fell to Madrid in the Champions League finals of 2014 and 2016 and was also knocked out in their two other meetings, the 2015 quarterfinals and 2017 semifinals.