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Looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit, Real Madrid hosted Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday night.
In front of a capacity Santiago Bernabeu, Los Blancos produced a scintillating second-half performance, winning the game 3-1 (3-2 on aggregate), courtesy of an impeccable Karim Benzema hat-trick.
Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG completely outclassed and outplayed Los Blancos in the first leg and deservedly bagged a 1-0 win in Paris last month. The Spanish giants needed to up the ante to avoid a similar outcome at home, and they did it right from the get-go. The hosts created a handful of chances in the first 10 minutes itself, but could not translate their dominance into goals.
Benzema unfurled a curling effort in the 24th minute, but couldn’t beat a fully stretched Gianluigi Donnarumma. Lionel Messi then had a go at goal at the other end, but could not make his dinking effort hit the back of the net. The breakthrough finally came for the visitors six minutes before half-time when Los Blancos’ transfer target Kylian Mbappe got the better of Thibaut Courtois at the near post.
The Whites finally popped up with the equalizer 16 minutes into the second half, thanks to Benzema’s relentless pressing and knack for being in the right place at the right time. The second goal came in the 74th minute, which leveled the contest 2-2 on aggregate. Finally, two minutes later, Benzema stabbed home the winner to send Los Blancos through to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Here are five Real Madrid heroes who stood out in their historic comeback win over PSG in the Champions League Round of 16:
Special mention: Eder Militao
#5 Eduardo Camavinga
In Casemiro’s absence, Carlo Ancelotti fielded Toni Kroos in a defensive midfield role and placed Luka Modric and Fede Valverde a little higher up.
Brilliant as Kroos is, he did not look comfortable in that role and was having a tough time dealing with PSG’s physicality.
Camavinga was brought on for Kroos 12 minutes into the second half and immediately made his presence felt. He was quick, dogged, and made the midfield tick with his passes.
The energy he brought in was infectious and allowed the Whites to dominate the visitors in the middle of the park.
#4 David Alaba
Since joining as a free agent from Bayern Munich in the summer, David Alaba has grown into an undroppable player at Real Madrid. Last night, his versatility and defensive acumen shone through against a fully-stacked PSG side.
The former Bayern man was rock solid at the back and rarely put a foot wrong. He stuck with Kylian Mbappe in the build-up to PSG’s opener and did his best to limit the Frenchman’s options.
Unfortunately, his efforts were for naught as Mbappe ended up beating Courtois at his near post. He followed Mbappe even more closely in the second half, notably stopping him from firing at goal from a chipped pass from Messi.
Against Les Parisiens, Alaba registered three clearances, made three recoveries, won a tackle, and provided a key pass. Another world-class performance from the 29-year-old.
#3 Vinicius Junior
The second leg between Real Madrid and PSG gave us plenty of individual battles to enjoy. The one that stood out the most was between former Madrid player Achraf Hakimi and Los Blancos' young forward Vinicius Junior.
Having endured a quiet first leg, the Brazilian was determined to pull one over Hakimi and, in the end, that’s exactly what he did. He kept the Morocco international on his toes, dancing into the PSG box numerous times over the course of the match.
Vinicius also played a crucial role in all three of Real Madrid’s goals on Wednesday. He set up the first, rolling the ball back to Benzema after intercepting Donnarumma’s pass.
14 minutes later, he collected the ball from Luka Modric, ran down the left flank, and cut it back for the Croatian. The 36-year-old then set up Benzema for his second goal of the night.
A couple of minutes later, Vinicius Junior found himself locked in a tussle with Marquinhos. He compelled his compatriot to perform a hurried clearance, which fell to Benzema. The Frenchman made no mistake hitting the back of the net.
#2 Luka Modric
Real Madrid central-midfielder Luka Modric produced a scintillating performance against PSG on Wednesday night. Having scored a world-class goal against Real Sociedad on Sunday, Modric was full of confidence and vigor.
Like most of his teammates, he struggled a bit in the later stages of the first half but made amends with an unmatched second-half showing.
The 36-year-old passed eloquently, moved through PSG’s midfield like a hot knife through butter, and remarkably set up Karim Benzema for his second goal.
Having picked up the ball just outside his penalty area, the Croat dashed forward, beating the Parisian midfield, and played a through ball for Vinicius. The Brazilian returned the ball to the midfield maestro, allowing Modric to thread the ball through between Presnel Kimpembe’s legs to set up Benzema.
Over the course of the match, Modric played 59 passes with 85.5 percent accuracy, provided eight long balls, completed three dribbles, and won seven ground duels.
He also won all four of his tackles, the best of which was on the great Lionel Messi in the 73rd minute.
#1 Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema, the man of the moment, was easily the standout performer for Real Madrid on Wednesday night. Every Madrid fan inside the stadium expected the Frenchman to produce something special against PSG, but very few would’ve anticipated a match-winning hat-trick from him.
From the first half itself, the 34-year-old looked set to threaten Paris Saint-Germain’s goal. He drew a brilliant save out of Donnarumma before the half-hour mark and also attempted a couple of headers. He came out with a vengeance in his eyes in the second half and made it a point to outshine his compatriot Kylian Mbappe.
In the 61st minute, he read the hesitation in Donnarumma’s movement and forced a loose pass out of him. Vinicius Junior intercepted the keeper’s pass and rolled it back to Benzema to finish.
The Los Blancos skipper doubled his tally 14 minutes later, applying a telling touch to Luka Modric’s sumptuous through ball. Before PSG could regroup, Benzema completed his hat-trick, stabbing Marquinhos’ poor clearance from close range.
The match-winning hat-trick took Benzema’s Real Madrid goal tally to 309, making him the third-leading goalscorer in the club’s history, surpassing the great Alfredo di Stefano.
Only Raul (323) and Cristiano Ronaldo (451) have scored more than the Frenchman in Los Merengues’ rich history.
