Real Madrid hosted the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 against Atletico Madrid, securing a narrow 2-1 victory heading into next week’s decisive match. Despite the result, Julian Alvarez shined once again, achieving a remarkable feat previously held only by Lionel Messi in the competition.
Alvarez is enjoying a stellar debut season at Atletico Madrid, who made a significant investment to sign him from Manchester City. In the 32nd minute, the Argentine striker unleashed a thunderous strike to equalize the game, replicating a rare achievement that only Messi had accomplished before.
With his goal, Alvarez and Messi are now the only Argentine players to have scored against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the knockout stages of the Champions League. While the Atletico star achieved this in 2025, the Barcelona legend was the first to do so in 2011.
Messi’s historic moment came on April 27, 2011, when Barcelona faced Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals. That night, the Argentine legend scored a memorable brace, including a stunning solo goal, leading Barca to a 2-0 victory at the Bernabeu.
Despite Atletico falling short compared to Barcelona’s 2011 victory, the one-goal deficit keeps Diego Simeone’s side in contention. The second leg will take place on Wednesday, March 12, at the Metropolitano, where Alvarez and company will look to produce a result to remember.
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A reason for Atletico fans to believe
Although Real Madrid holds the advantage, history offers Atletico Madrid fans a reason for optimism. The only time Los Blancos won 2-1 at home in the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie, they ended up being eliminated in the return leg.
This happened in the 2002-03 season, when Juventus pulled off an epic 3-1 comeback in the second leg, securing a 4-3 aggregate victory to knock Real Madrid out and advance to the final. This particular antecedent adds hope to an Atletico Madrid that’ll have to look for at least a goal at home.
