Karim Benzema hat-trick sees Real Madrid knock PSG out of Champions League

Real 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. Madrid were set to be the latest victims of another Mbappe masterclass at the Santiago Bernabeu after the 23-year-old ran them ragged for the best part of an hour and fired in to put PSG 1-0 up on the night, 2-0 ahead on aggregate. But Madrid came storming back as Benzema capitalised on a mistake by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and then scored an incredible double in two minutes, the third coming within 11 seconds after PSG had kicked off. When the full-time whistle confirmed their 3-2 aggregate victory, many of Madrid's players dropped to their knees and looked up to the sky, as much perhaps in disbelief as joy.

"Every game is a final now for us in the Champions League and La Liga but today we showed that Real Madrid is alive," said Benzema. For PSG, it was another epic collapse to add to their growing list of Champions League disappointments, with Mauricio Pochettino's future as coach immediately cast into doubt. Even with Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar, the Qatari-owned club's wait for a Champions League crown goes on. "We didn't manage our emotions well. We left ourselves exposed," said Pochettino. "We leave with great pain and disappointment because we didn't score the goals to reflect our superiority over the two games." Pochettino also fumed at referee Danny Makkelie for not whistling for a foul as Benzema challenged Donnarumma before Madrid's first goal.

"Explaining what happened is easy, there was a foul on Donnarumma during the first goal, and that changed everything," he said. All eyes were on Mbappe,