Benzema scored a second-half hat-trick in the space of 17 minutes while in the other match of the day, Manchester City were held to a goalless draw by Sporting Lisbon but progressed to the last-8 with a 5-0 aggregate win.
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Karim Benzema scored a second-half hat-trick as Real Madrid came from behind to beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 in the Champions League last-16 second leg fixture at Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. The result helped Los Blancos to enter the quarter-finals of the competition courtesy of a 3-2 aggregate win. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring to extend PSG’s advantage from the first leg and the visitors went into the break with a healthy two goal aggregate lead. But the hosts came out all guns blazing in the second half and scored three goals in the space of 17 minutes to seal a last-8 berth.
⏰ RESULTS ⏰
Football. Nothing like it. ?
? Benzema hat-trick secures last-8 spot for Real Madrid; Mbappé scores opener in Bernabéu thriller
? Man. City through 5-0 on aggregate; Carson denies Paulinho to mark second competition appearance? Best moment tonight? #UCL
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 9, 2022
PSG started the match on the driving seat as Lionel Messi, Neyamar and Mbappe combined early on for a breakaway move but Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois did well to collect the latter’s cross.
Few minutes later, Mbappe went through on goal but once again Courtois stood firm to deny the Frenchman at the near post. Mbappe’s first-time pass made space for Neyamr but the Brazilian’s venom-less shot was well collected by the Belgian custodian.
The hosts took some time to settle in and had their first attempt on goal on 24 minutes when Benzema’s right-footed curler hit the outside of the far post. Messi went past two defenders before combining with Neyamar inside the box and put in a cross but there was no one to tap-in and Nacho cleared it from in front of goal.
Mbappe put the ball inside the net from Nuno Mendes’ cut back but the linesman raised the flag for off-side. But PSG deservedly broke the deadlock on 39 minutes, when Neymar played a brilliant first-time ball to release Mbappe on goal and the Frenchman made no mistake as he fired home past Courtois into the back of the net.
Early in the second half, Mbappe thought he had doubled the lead when he found the back of the net from Naymar’s assist but the linesman once again rightly raised the flag for offside. The Frenchman should have timed his run better.
With just 30 minutes left in the tie, Real Madrid’s chances of progressing were looking bleak but against the run of play, Benzema leveled the score courtesy of an error by PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italian was closed down quickly by Benzema in his own area, forcing to make a mistake, and the Frenchman slotted home from Vinicius’ assist on 61 minutes.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side made full use of the life-line given to them as Benzema put them ahead on 76 minutes. Luka Modric played a nice little through ball to pick the Frenchman on the right side of the penalty area, Benzema’s shot deflected off Marquinhos and went in.
The 34-year-old striker completed his hat-trick two minutes later when he finished off from a poor defensive clearance from Danilo Pereiro. PSG’s defence was in sixes and sevens and they had only themselves to blame for not taking their chances.
Modric and Vinicius played a key role in the home side’s victory. Modric was consistently providing quality balls to Vinicius on the left and both of them were involved in all three goals the hosts scored.
Elsewhere, Manchester City were held to a goalless draw at Etihad Stadium, but the English champions progressed to the last-8 courtesy of a 5-0 aggregate win. Pep Guardiola’s side had as good as confirmed their place in the quarter-finals with their five star performance in last month’s first leg, allowing them to take their foot off the pedal in Manchester..
Guardiola used the opportunity to rotate his side, making six changes from City’s 4-1 win over Manchester United, with teenager CJ Egan-Riley handed a Champions League debut at right-back. Jame McAtee, another academy graduate impressed off the bench at half-time while there was second-half cameo for goalkeeper Scott Carson.
City dominated the proceedings and created a decent number of goal-scoring chances but Sporting defended pretty well to keep a clean sheet and go back with their heads held high. Raheem sterling spurned a one-on-one opportunity in the first half and Gabriel Jesus saw his goal ruled out for off-side by VAR soon after the break.
