Madrid, March 10 (BNA): Real Madrid fans started the evening by applauding Kylian Mbappe and ended it by cheering Karim Benzema and celebrating another night in the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Benzema responded to another goal for Mbappe by scoring a hat-trick in less than 20 minutes in the second half as Real Madrid came from behind to defeat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 and qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals, the Associated Press reported.
Another disappointing result in Europe was for PSG, who won the first leg 1-0 and doubled their lead through Mbappe in the first half but failed once again to live up to massive expectations after adding Lionel Messi to this star-studded squad. season.
“It was a great night for us,” said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. “It was a tough match and it got complicated after their first goal. We suffered a lot. But after we scored a goal, the atmosphere in the stadium changed and the fans started pushing us again and the players started to think they could finish the comeback.”
Mbappe opened the scoring in the 39th minute to extend Paris Saint-Germain’s lead on aggregate after the France striker also scored in stoppage time to win the first leg in Paris.
Mbappe has been widely associated with a move to Madrid after his contract expired at the end of the season and was cheered by Real Madrid fans when his name was announced in the PSG squad before the match. His family was also at the Bernabéu.
But when it all ended with applause for Real Madrid and Benzema, who at 34 years old, 80 days old, became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League. He beat Olivier Giroud, who was 34 years and 63 days old when he scored a hat-trick for Chelsea in Seville in 2020.
Benzema also reached 309 goals with Real Madrid to beat Alfredo Di Stefano in third place in the club’s top scorer list, and 67 in the Champions League to beat Raul Gonzalez 66 with the club and become the second best Cristiano Ronaldo.
“We needed the fans and they were behind us until the end,” Benzema said. “This victory is theirs.”
More than 60,000 people were on hand for the biggest crowd at the Bernabéu since the coronavirus pandemic began. The stadium, which is still under renovation, remained packed several minutes after the final whistle as players remained on the field celebrating with the fans.
Benzema’s hat-trick began in the Champions League for the third time in the 61st minute after a fatal mistake by Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. He then scored again in the 76th and 78th minutes to give the 13-times European champions a 3-2 aggregate win. Real Madrid reached the quarter-finals for the second consecutive season after successive eliminations in the Round of 16.
Paris Saint-Germain, seeking to achieve its first title in the European Champions League, has passed the round of 16 in the last two seasons, and lost the final to Bayern Munich in 2020 and was eliminated by Manchester City in the semi-finals in 2021.
In the other round of 16 match on Wednesday, Manchester City led Sporting Lisbon 5-0 on aggregate after a goalless draw in England.
PSG looked in control after Mbappe, who was doubtful of play after taking a knock in training on Monday, scored in the 39th minute after getting a long pass from Neymar and ran into the area before firing a low shot past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. .
It was the 27th Champions League goal for the 23-year-old France striker with Paris Saint-Germain, leaving him three times shy of Edinson Cavani’s club record in the competition. He scored 14 goals in his last 14 Champions League matches.
Mbappe already had some chances before opening the scoring, including a goal that was ruled out for offside in preparation. He also scored one goal for the same reason in the second half.
Neymar and Lionel Messi also threatened PSG after Real Madrid appeared to be in control early on.
Vinicius Junior and Benzema were more of a threat to Real Madrid, and the French striker scored the equalizer from a pass from Vinicius after Donnarumma had given the ball wide while under pressure from Benzema inside the area.
“The goalkeeper waited and waited and lost the ball and that was a goal,” Benzema said. “He should have removed it, that simple.”
Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino complained that Benzema had missed Donnarumma.
“It was an obvious mistake and he wasn’t called up,” Pochettino said. “We got nervous after that goal and things got complicated. We couldn’t manage it well after that.”
Benzema added the second goal after a pass from Luka Modric and two minutes later sealed the team’s place in the quarter-finals by ending one time after another kick from Vinicius down the left flank.
Real Madrid went without Ferland Mendy and Casemiro due to a yellow card suspension, but Toni Kroos started after he suspected a muscle injury. Federico Valverde replaced Casemiro, while Nacho Fernandez started at left-back in place of veteran Marcelo.