Benzema scores a hat-trick to send PSG out of the Champions League
Key takeaways:
- Karim Benzema is the foremost player from France to net three Champions League/European Cup hat-tricks.
- Karim Benzema scored a glorious second-half hat-trick as Real Madrid delivered a rousing fightback at a wild Bernabeu to reach the Champions League quarter-finals at the cost of Paris St-Germain.
Benzema's brilliance helps Madrid to reach quarter-finals:
Kylian Mbappe's first-half goal had provided PSG an earned two-goal aggregate lead and looked to have put Mauricio Pochettino's team well on course for the final eight.
However, a blunder by PSG goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma proved the trigger for a dramatic comeback, with Benzema turning home after the Italian dawdled in possession.
Luka Modric's driving run and complex pass made Benzema second as he equalized the tie against a panicked PSG. As the guests tried to regroup, the 34-year-old went a low effort into the bottom right corner seconds after the restart to settle the tie.
Until Donnarumma's mistake, PSG had been in complete control.
Marco Verratti was smooth and prevailing in midfield, while Neymar and Lionel Messi worked in some difficult positions as the hosts struggled to have their more articulate rivals.
Mbappe, in specific, was electric, running on to a pass from Neymar to open the netting against the team he has been heavily tipped to join in the summer when his agreement at PSG expires.
Either side of that, the 23-year-old crushed the Real defense, twice having goals perfectly disallowed for offside but offering his predatory instincts still.
A wave of acceleration also saw him flare past Real's Eder Militao, and only a bright covering challenge from David Alaba stopped him from adding to his total.
Mbappe's power was such that he got warm cheering from the home support as he got up after appearing to be injured in a tackle, but the actual harm to his and PSG's long-standing aspirations in the contest was still to come.