Benzema scores stunning hat-trick to earn team 3-2 aggregate win over French giants
\nMADRID
\nReal Madrid pulled off one of the great Champions League comebacks on Wednesday as Karim Benzema scored a breath-taking hat-trick to upstage Kylian Mbappe and dump Paris Saint-Germain out in the last 16.
\nMadrid were set to be the latest victims of another Mbappe masterclass at the Santiago Bernabeu after the 23-year-old ran them ragged for the best part of an hour and fired in to put PSG 1-0 up on the night, 2-0 ahead on aggregate.
\nBut Madrid came storming back as Benzema capitalised on a mistake by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and then scored an incredible double in two minutes, the third coming within 11 seconds after PSG had kicked off.
\nWhen the full-time whistle confirmed their 3-2 aggregate victory, many of Madrid\u2019s players dropped to their knees and looked up to the sky, as much perhaps in disbelief as joy, after completing one of the most memorable turnarounds in the club\u2019s recent history.
\n\u201cEvery game is a final now for us in the Champions League and La Liga but today we showed that Real Madrid is alive,\u201d said Benzema.
\nPSG coach Mauricio Pochettino fumed at referee Danny Makkelie for not whistling for a foul in the build-up to the first Madrid goal.
\n\u201cExplaining what happened is easy, there was a foul on Donnarumma during the first goal, and that changed everything,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s hard not to talk about this big refereeing mistake, which I don\u2019t understand and won\u2019t forgive. I don\u2019t understand why the referee didn\u2019t call VAR.\u201d
\nAll eyes were on Mbappe, who was the only player to be cheered by Madrid\u2019s fans before the game as they were gifted an up-close preview of the player they hope will be theirs this summer.
\nMbappe delivered, scoring a superb goal, not to mention a spellbinding second that was disallowed for offside when he bamboozled Thibaut Courtois with a magical dummy.
\nHe might not even have been at 100 percent here after a knock in training on Monday temporarily put his involvement in doubt.
\nBut what looked set to become an exhibition of the world\u2019s deadliest player instead became another remarkable European night for Real Madrid, who showed again why they consider this to be their competition.
\nMadrid clearly wanted to hit PSG hard from the start, with Dani Carvajal leaping and waving his hands at the crowd in an attempt to generate a wave of noise.
\nFor a while, it worked, Vinicius Junior tearing down the left and FedeValverde bulldozing through Mbappe, but the surge was brief. PSG killed Madrid\u2019s momentum, pushed them back and took complete control.
\nMbappe sped clear for the first time in the eighth minute, Neymar curling a ball into the space on the left. The stadium held its breath, Mbappe made space but this time hit Courtois.
\nMadrid dropped off but ceded control. Mbappe nipped past Eder Militao and Courtois saved. A lovely interchange between Lionel Messi and Marco Verratti gave Neymar a sight of goal but Courtois was there again.
\nPSG were comfortable, dictating the play and sensing the trepidation. Madrid had openings, Benzema curling just wide, but all over the pitch they looked slower, heavier, more cumbersome.
\nMessi skipped through and scooped wide before Mbappe had his first of two goals ruled out, driving into the corner only to see the flag raised.
\nThe goal, though, felt inevitable and in the 39th minute, it came. Carvajal lost the ball upfield and with Madrid committed, Neymar arced another brilliant pass over the top.
\nBy the time he reached it, Mbappe only had David Alaba in front of him and as he shaped to bend into the far corner he instead fired early, whipping a deadly shot past Courtois and inside the near post.
\nMadrid tried to reset at half-time but Mbappe carried on where he left off with a brilliant, but disallowed, goal.
\nHe fooled Courtois with an astonishing dummy shot, beating the Belgian without even touching the ball and slammed in. The flag went up but the stadium was astounded.
\nThe game was becoming less a contest, more an Mbappe exhibition but then Benzema, out of nowhere, dragged Madrid back into the tie.
\nHe chased Nuno Mendes\u2019 backpass to Donnarumma, who skewed under pressure. Vinicius was able to collect and cut back to Benzema, who slotted home.
\nIt was Luka Modric who inspired Madrid\u2019s second, a scintillating run through midfield allowing Vinicius to race clear down the left. He scooped back inside to Modric, whose exquisite reverse pass found Benzema, who finished.
\nMadrid were level on aggregate, the goal confirmed after a check from VAR. Then just seconds later, incredibly, they were ahead. PSG squandered possession from kick-off, Rodrygo released Vinicius and Marquinhos\u2019 attempted clearance found Benzema, who steered into the corner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Benzema scores stunning hat-trick to earn team 3-2 aggregate win over French giants MADRID Real Madrid pulled off one of the great Champions League comebacks on Wednesday as Karim Benzema scored a breath-taking hat-trick to upstage Kylian Mbappe and dump Paris Saint-Germain out in the last 16. Madrid were set to be the latest victims […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-248876","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n