Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick to lead Real Madrid to a comeback 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain at the Santiago-Bernabeu.
Kylian Mbappe’s first-half goal looked to have sealed PSG’s place in the next round with a 2-0 lead on the aggregate but Benzema scored three goals after the break to complete Madrid’s turnout and seal a famous 3-2 win on aggregate at their home stadium.
Both teams were lively from the start but it was PSG who created early scoring chances with Thibaut Courtois having to deny Mbappe on two occasions.
Gianluigi Donnarumma produced a stunning fingertip save of his own from Benzema’s long-range effort to keep Madrid at bay.
Less than 10 minutes later, Mbappe thought he had given the visitors the lead on the night but his goal was ruled out with Nuno Mendes in an offside position. Madrid were unable to prevent Mbappe from opening the scoring merely five minutes later when he managed to beat the offside trap and slot the ball past Courtois.
Shortly after the break, Mbappe seemed to have put the tie to bed but his stunning finish was disallowed for offside once more.
Just after the hour mark, Benzema capitalized on Donnarumma’s mistake to make it 1-1 on the night and give their supporters hope of a comeback. Vinicius Junior missed his chance to level the scores on aggregate 10 minutes later when he blazed his close-range shot over the bar.
Benzema restored parity minutes later to make it 2-2 on aggregate and took just seconds after celebrating his equalizer to add another goal to complete his hat-trick and a remarkable turnaround for his team.
The France international scored his 309th goal for Madrid in all competitions, passing Alfredo Di Stefano for third-most in the club’s history.
Despite reaching the semifinals last season and the final of 2020, PSG are still searching for their first Champions League trophy in its history.
Madrid joins Liverpool, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City in the quarterfinals of the competition.
