Champions League: Pochettino criticises referee after PSG collapse against Real Madrid
Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino said the decision not to give a foul against Karim Benzema for Real Madrid's first goal "changed everything" in his team's Champions League implosion on Wednesday. The French giants were cruising at 2-0 up on aggregate when Benzema scored the first goal of his hat-trick just after the hour mark at the Santiago Bernabeu, going on to lose 3-1 on the night and 3-2 in the last-16 tie. But Pochettino was left angered that PSG were not given a free-kick for Benzema's challenge on Gianluigi Donnarumma after the visiting goalkeeper dwelled on the ball.
"Explaining what happened is easy. There was a foul on Donnarumma on the first goal, and that changed everything," Pochettino told Canal+. "It's hard not to talk about this big refereeing error, which I don't understand and I won't forgive. "I don't understand why the referee didn't call for VAR. From then on everything changed in the stadium. Our players were upset, even if we must recognise that we made mistakes." France striker Benzema was clear that he did not think it was a foul when Donnarumma miskicked under pressure. "Not at all (was it a foul)," he told RMC Sport. "I pressed him, he waited and then he simply lost the ball."
Read AlsoKarim Benzema hat-trick sees Real Madrid knock PSG out of Champions LeagueReal Madrid pulled off one of the great Champions League comebacks on Wednesday as Karim Benzema scored a breathtaking hat-trick to upstage Kylian Mbappe and dump Paris Saint-Germain out in the last 16.
PSG, still searching for a maiden Champions League trophy, capitulated in the closing stages, with Benzema's winning goal coming within 11 seconds of kick-off after his second. Pochettino's position will now come under
