Real Madrid qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday March 9, 2022. The Spanish club beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1, thanks to a hat-trick from captain Karim Benzema.
Terrible disappointment for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the Champions League (C1). The French football club, owned by Qatar, hoped to finally win this competition in 2022, the year during which the emirate will organize the World Cup.
On the contrary, PSG left the C1 in the round of 16 on Wednesday. Blame it on Real Madrid and its captain Karim Benzema, who eclipsed his young compatriot Kylian Mbappé.
An irresistible Kylian Mbappé
It is still unclear whether Mbappé will play next season with Benzema at Real. But in the meantime, the Parisian superstar has mistreated the Madrid defense. Scorer in the first leg, the striker did it again in the return match.
After two low shots stopped by Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (8th, 13th) and a goal invalidated for offside (34th), he found the fault with a powerful flat foot. Launched on the left by the Brazilian striker Neymar, Mbappé thus put the French club on the way to the quarter-finals (0-1, 39th).
Irresistible, the 2018 world champion dribbled Courtois in the 54th minute, with an incredible stepover. Launched again by Neymar, the center forward then slips the ball into the back of the net but is flagged offside.
Benzema’s thundering reply
The public at the Santiago-Bernabeu Stadium fell in love with the young prodigy. He almost forgets that Real has another French crack in its ranks: Benzema. On the hour mark, the Madrid number 9 comes to harass the Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The latter clears the ball awkwardly towards the opposing Brazilian striker Vinicius. The latter puts the ball back towards Benzema who equalizes: 1-1, 61st.
The Spanish team begins to believe in it, rightly. In the 76th, thanks to a subtle pass from Croatian midfielder Luka Modric, Benzema beat Donnarumma once again, Brazilian defender Marquinhos deflecting his shot: 2-1.
A Marquinhos not at the end of his troubles. In the seconds that follow, the Parisian captain also makes a clumsy clearance, in the axis. Benzema springs and propels the ball into the opposing cage: 3-1. The three stabs of the Habs are fatal to PSG. Real, the most successful club in the Champions League (13 crowns), continues the adventure. The Parisian season, it has just turned into a fiasco, with this elimination.