Real Madrid 3-1 PSG (3-2 agg): Player ratings as Benzema hat-trick completes stunning comeback
By Tom Gott
Real Madrid bagged three second-half goals to seal an unbelievable comeback and dump Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday night.
Seeking to overturn a one-goal deficit, Real flew out the gates and showed more attacking impetus than we saw from them in the entire first leg. They got in behind PSG's back line three times inside the opening five minutes but couldn't make that early pressure count.
PSG set up to counter and did exactly that. Kylian Mbappe led an early breakaway and stung the gloves of Thibaut Courtois, who was needed to stop two early strikes from his would-be teammate.
Courtois made more saves in the first half, but Gianluigi Donnarumma made the biggest one. Karim Benzema's wicked whipped effort from range looked to be goal-bound, but the Italian got the fingertip-est of fingertips to steer it wide.
The next chance fell to PSG. Some excellent link-up play between Neymar and Lionel Messi gifted some space to the latter, who dinked the ball over Courtois but couldn't get his effort on goal.
Mbappe had the ball in the back of the net after the half-hour mark but saw his goal chalked off for an offside from Nuno Mendes, shortly before Benzema was left furious after he couldn't make the most of an excellent headed chance.
There was no saving Real next time though. Neymar played an excellent pass through to Mbappe, who fizzed the ball past Courtois to give PSG another one-goal lead heading into half-time.
After the break, Mbappe saw another goal ruled out for offside. He dummied Courtois perfectly and slotted home, but the linesman clocked that his run came far too early.
Real got back into the game on the hour mark. Donnarumma was caught in possession by Benzema, who forced the Italian to slice the ball to Vinicius Junior. One cutback to Benzema later, and it was 1-1.
It should have been 2-1 later on as some pinball in the PSG area saw the ball drop to Vinicius, who lost all composure as he blazed over the bar. Fortunately for Real, Benzema made no mistake 15 minutes from time as he fired past Donnarumma to tie things up on aggregate.
Directly from kick-off, Real recovered the ball, went straight down the other end and were celebrating again as Benzema bagged his hat-trick with a gorgeous finish from the edge of the box.
PSG completely lost their heads in the second half. They were all over the place defensively and looked nothing like the side that had dominated in the first 45.
It was a total capitulation from the Parisiens, who could only watch on as this masterclass from Benzema sent them packing from the Champions League.
REAL MADRID PLAYER RATINGS
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Thibaut Courtois (GK) - 7/10 - Alert early on to make some nice saves to keep things level as long as possible.
Dani Carvajal (RB) - 5/10 - Really involved in attack but that high line gifted Mbappe of all people with an ocean of space. Might have been a fault of the system.
Eder Militao (CB) - 6/10 - Had to get out wide to cover for Carvajal and that left Real exposed centrally. Still managed to make some excellent blocks.
David Alaba (CB) - 6/10 - Backed off from Mbappe for the opening goal and invited him to shoot, but made up for that with an unreal goal-saving challenge in the second half.
Nacho Fernandez (LB) - 4/10 - Clearly a centre-back playing out wide. Offered very little going forwards and looked shaky out wide.
2. Midfielders
Toni Kroos (DM) - 5/10 - Pressed really well early on but quickly got overwhelmed by PSG's speed on the counter. Showed his age.
Luka Modric (CM) - 8/10 - Struggled in the first half as well but stepped up after the equaliser. Some superb work for the second goal.
Federico Valverde (CM) - 6/10 - The better defender of the trio but that's not saying much.
3. Forwards
Marco Asensio (RW) - 4/10 - Was playing in more of a central role which meant Carvajal had to do all the wide work, and we already know how that went.
Karim Benzema (ST) - 9/10 - Wow wow wow wow wow. What an elite performance. A clinic in finishing.
Vinicius Junior (LW) - 7/10 - His side's dangerman early on. His pace proved to be a huge problem.
4. Substitutes
Eduardo Camavinga (DM, 57' for Kroos) - 6/10
Rodrygo (RW, 57' for Asensio) - 6/10
Lucas Vazquez (RB, 66' for Carvajal) - 6/10
PSG PLAYER RATINGS
5. Goalkeeper & defenders
Gianluigi Donnarumma (GK) - 6/10 - A wonderful save to deny Benzema in the first half but undid that hard work with a massive mistake in the second.
Achraf Hakimi (RB) - 4/10 - Torched by Vinicius in the opening minutes but soon took control of the first half. Lost that composure after the break and was lucky to avoid a red card.
Presnel Kimpembe (CB) - 3/10 - Excellent in the first half but absolutely lost his head in the second half. Looked like he'd never seen a football before.
Marquinhos (CB) - 4/10 - Surprisingly the shakier of the two defenders for the most part. Had a moment of madness in the first half that he was lucky to get away with. Battered by Benzema in the air.
Nuno Mendes (LB) - 5/10 - Loved the space afforded to him by Carvajal. Flew forward at every given opportunity, but his inexperience in the second half was a massive problem. Looked terrified.
6. Midfielders
Marco Verratti (DM) - 8/10 - Unflappable in possession. Wrestled control of the game when PSG were on the ropes early on.
Danilo (CM) - 6/10 - Sacrificed all fun to focus on keeping Vinicius quiet and did his job admirably.
Leandro Paredes (CM) - 7/10 - Booked very early on, but showed real experience to avoid another booking. Quietly superb before he was subbed.
7. Forwards
Neymar (RW) - 6/10 - Not involved as much as he would have liked but still had some moments of magic, including for Mbappe's opener.
Lionel Messi (ST) - 6/10 - Really really impressive in the first half but lost his impact in the second half.
Kylian Mbappe (LW) - 8/10 - This guy's good. Didn't deserve to be on the losing side.
8. Substitutes
Idrissa Gueye (CM, 70' for Paredes) - 4/10
Angel Di Maria (RW, 80' for Danilo) - 5/10
Julian Draxler (AM, 88' for Hakimi) - N/A