‘He waits & waits then loses the ball’ - Benzema adamant he didn't foul Donnarumma for first Real Madrid goal as Leonardo fumes over no VAR check

Karim Benzema is adamant that the first effort in he recorded when netting a stunning Champions League hat-trick against Paris Saint-Germain deserved to stand, with the Real Madrid striker adamant that he did not foul Gianluigi Donnarumma when making the Italian goalkeeper pay for dwelling on the ball.

The Blancos were in need of inspiration from somewhere at that point after seeing Kylian Mbappe double PSG’s aggregate advantage, with a French forward hauling them back into the tie before going on to seal a 3-2 overall success and a place in the quarter-finals.

Questions have been asked of whether Benzema tripped Donnarumma when forcing him into a hurried clearance that fell to the feet of Vinicius Junior, but the Real frontman insists he did nothing wrong as an Italian shot-stopper gifted La Liga giants a lifeline.

Benzema told Canal+ when asked about an incident on the hour mark that got his hat-trick heroics rolling: “The first goal? No, nothing. No foul. Just pressing.

“He should have cleared it. He waits and waits and loses the ball in the end.”

The prolific 34-year-old added: “My greatest match in the Champions League? It was only a last-16 game, but personally it is something exceptional.

“We must not give up in the Champions League and we showed that we are a great club.”

Real Madrid are back in it all thanks to the work rate of Karim Benzema