Real Madrid fans and players celebrated their hard-fought victory over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday to secure a place in the Champions League quarter-finals, but coach Carlo Ancelotti was more relieved than enthused by what he said was a lackluster performance.

Real secured a 4-2 victory on penalties after the score was 2-2 on aggregate, as the reigning champions seek a 16th title in this competition, writes KosovaPress.

Ancelotti was disappointed that Real conceded a goal within the first minute that levelled the aggregate score after Real had secured a 2-1 advantage in the first leg at home last week.

He called on his players to be sharper as they prepare to face Arsenal for a place in the semi-finals.

"We made it more difficult by losing unnecessary balls that constantly found us out of position. If they had scored 2-0, then the game could have gotten out of control. We played better as the game went on, we had our chances, but we need to improve on our focus and concentration," he said.

"We always have to look for improvement. The match was equal and a mistake could have been costly. We wanted to finish the match before penalties, of course, but here we are, still fighting and in the competition, as is customary at this club," the Italian coach concluded.