Ranking Real Madrid's 5 best players against PSG | UEFA Champions League Round of 16

Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain: Round Of Sixteen Leg Two - UEFA Champions League

#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.

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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.

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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.

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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.