Atlético de Madrid still has four LaLiga matches left before the current season ends and they embark on the adventure of the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup, which will take place this summer in the United States. However, even though the season goes on, Atlético de Madrid's squad remains mentally stuck on the infamous penalty that was disallowed for Julián Álvarez against Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16.

Julián Álvarez questions UEFA's video

Nearly two months have passed since that fateful episode that resulted in Atlético de Madrid’s elimination. Still, Julián Álvarez wanted to revisit it in an exclusive interview with 'Diario AS'. “I’ve watched it a million times and we all have the same doubt,” said the Argentine striker… even though UEFA released a video aiming to show he did, in fact, touch the ball twice when taking the shot.

In fact, Julián Álvarez explained what went through his mind at the time of the incident. “Honestly, in that moment I thought: ‘Oooh, I slipped. But hey, it went in.’ I celebrated the goal and that was it.” At first, although he later denied it, it seemed even referee Szymon Marciniak hadn’t noticed what had happened. However, he was quickly alerted by Kylian Mbappé and, without consulting VAR, decided to disallow Julián Álvarez’s goal.

"It’s very subtle and we all have the same doubt"

“I wasn’t sure at all and I thought: ‘If they check the VAR image, they’ll see what really happened.’ In the end, I didn’t realize it was so subtle—they couldn’t even tell if it happened or not. If it was two touches, they’d see it; if it was one, they’d see it. It’s very subtle and we all have the same doubt,” said Julián Álvarez, who still believes the goal shouldn’t have been disallowed, though he admits he can’t say with absolute certainty that he didn’t touch the ball twice.

That decision ended up weighing on Atlético de Madrid for the rest of the season, as they gradually fell out of the LaLiga title race and were knocked out in the Copa del Rey semifinals against Barcelona. “This season we showed that even though March was really tough because we lost the titles over small details, we fought until the last minute,” said Julián Álvarez, who believes in the potential of this Atlético de Madrid squad to try again next season.