Benzema’s hat-trick stuns Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid returns in an epic way

Karim Benzema said Real Madrid showed they were still “alive” by completing an exciting comeback by defeating Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.

Real Madrid trailed 2-0 on aggregate when Kylian Mbappe put PSG ahead at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Benzema scored a stunning hat-trick in the second half, including two goals in two minutes, to lead his team to qualification.

Benzema said afterwards: “Every game is now a final for us in the Champions League and La Liga, but today we showed that Real Madrid is alive.”

“We know that PSG loves the ball. We started well and tried to score and in the second half we won the match with our mental strength,” Benzema added.

Benzema, at 34, is the oldest player to score a hat-trick in Champions League history.

“We won a very difficult match and it got more complicated after Mbappe’s goal,” Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said.

“We suffered a lot. Then we went higher which is what we wanted to do.

“We scored the first goal and from there everything changed. The fans pushed and believed us more and more. It was a great night.”

(AFP)