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Holders edge last-16 first leg but tie remains finely poised ahead of decider

Celebration: Brahim Diaz scored the winning goal as Real Madrid beat Atletico in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie

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Real Madrid lead their high-profile Champions League last-16 tie against rivals Atletico Madrid 2-1 after an entertaining first-leg battle at the Santiago Bernabeu. Brahim Diaz’s brilliant second-half goal decided Tuesday night’s highly-anticipated derby encounter in the Spanish capital after Julian Alvarez’s stunning strike had cancelled out an earlier cracker from Rodrygo, leaving proceedings finely balanced ahead of next week’s deciding match at the Metropolitano Stadium.

Real Madrid crucially should have added further to their lead in second-half stoppage time, but Kylian Mbappe could not quite tee up fellow attacker Vinicius Jr, who was then denied by a superb block from Jose Maria Gimenez. Atletico saw their own attempts at further goals largely thwarted by stand-in Los Blancos captain Federico Valverde, who returned from injury to slot in at right-back and wear the captain’s armband.

The winners of the second leg next Wednesday evening will almost certainly now go on to face Arsenal in the quarter-finals after the Gunners demolished PSV Eindhoven 7-1 away in the Netherlands in the one-sided first leg of their last-16 clash.