“Real Madrid are still alive,” said Karim Benzema, the 34-year-old striker who scored a second-half hat-trick on Wednesday as Paris Saint-Germain again self-destructed in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages, losing 3-1 on the night.
PSG were cruising at 2-0 up on aggregate after Kylian Mbappe’s 39th-minute strike.
For an hour the Paris club looked assured of a last-eight berth, but Benzema turned the tie on its head with three goals in 17 minutes as Real swept to a 3-2 aggregate triumph.
Photo: AFP
Even by PSG’s standards, this was an epic collapse, five years to the day since Barcelona overturned a 4-0, last-16, first-leg deficit against them by winning 6-1 at Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi and Neymar were in Barcelona colors that day, but both were on the receiving end this time, unable to rid PSG of their habit of crumbling when it matters most.
Madrid’s comeback might not have matched that night in Barcelona for scale or drama — Benzema’s winner came in the 78th minute not the 95th, and Madrid came from two behind, not four — but the impact might be greater.
Photo: Reuters
In the year of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were stitched together with limitless resources from the oil-rich Gulf state to win the Champions League, not crash out in the last 16.
Defeat throws Mauricio Pochettino’s future as coach into serious doubt, raises further questions about Messi’s departure from Barca and prolongs the Qatari-owned club’s wait for that elusive European crown, despite more than 1 billion euros (US$1.1 billion) splurged on transfers.
“We have not managed our emotions well and we left ourselves too exposed,” Pochettino said.
Photo: AFP
Mbappe took a step closer to leaving.
The 23-year-old, out of contract in the summer, was at his scintillating best at his prospective new Santiago Bernabeu home, where the Madrid fans applauded his name.
Mbappe’s sales pitch, if he needed one, was perfect.
Photo: AFP
He showed why he is regarded as the best player in the world at the moment, while Madrid in return confirmed they are a more serious European title-winning prospect than PSG.
In England, Manchester City strolled into the quarter-finals for the fifth consecutive season with a 5-0 aggregate win over Sporting, despite a subdued 0-0 draw.
All the hard work for the English champions was done in Lisbon three weeks ago.
On Wednesday a much-changed side cruised through the game.
They could even afford the luxury of bringing 36-year-old goalkeeper Scott Carson off the bench in the final stages.
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