Benzema hat trick… Real Madrid beat PSG to advance to Champions League quarterfinals

‘Spanish giant’ Real Madrid advanced to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League thanks to Karim Benzema, who scored three goals in the 17th minute.

Real Madrid defeated Paris Saint-Germain (France) 3-1 in the home match of the 2021-2022 UEFA Champions League (UCL) Round of 16 second leg held at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain on the 10th (Korean time).

Real Madrid, who lost 0-1 in the first leg away, recorded a 3-2 aggregate score in the first and second legs, and qualified for the quarterfinals.

Even when Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring in the 39th minute, it seemed that Paris Saint-Germain were getting close to the quarterfinals.

Mbappe, who received a pass from Neymar, penetrated the back space and hit Real Madrid with a right-footed shot that opened the goal.

Paris Saint-Germain led 1-0 in the first half, but Mbappe scored once again in the 9th minute of the second half, but the goal was not counted as an offside decision.

Mbappe bowed his head in the offside decision even after scoring twice on the day following the 34th minute of the first half.

After Paris Saint-Germain missed an opportunity to escape 2-0, the home team, Real Madrid, started a counterattack.

Real Madrid, who had to score two goals within 30 minutes to equalize, scored a goal in the 16th minute of the second half from France national striker Benzema 1-1, with a score of 1-2 in the first and second legs.

Benzema competed with the opponent to pass the ball back to the keeper and let it flow into the penalty area, and Benzema, who received a pass from Vinicius Junior, kicked it with his right foot.

In the 31st minute of the second half, Benzema scored another goal, making the match score 2-1 and the total score of the first and second legs 2-2.

After receiving a pass from Luka Modric, Benzema once again pierced the Paris Saint-Germain goal with a strong right-footed shot.

Paris Saint-Germain players raised their hands and protested that it was offside, but it was recognized as a goal.

Benzema, who gained momentum, rushed into the penalty area in the 33rd minute of the second half, and the ball was kicked off by the opposing defense, as if receiving an assist, with a right-footed shot.

Paris Saint-Germain missed the quarterfinals by one goal in the second half as Lionel Messi’s free kick kicked off the goal in the front of the penalty area in the extra time.

Manchester City (England), who won the first leg 5-0, also drew 0-0 with Sporting CP (Portugal) on the same day, and entered the quarterfinals with 1 win and 1 draw in the first and second rounds.

With this, Bayern Munich (Germany) and Liverpool (England), which confirmed their place in the quarterfinals the day before, followed by Real Madrid and Manchester City advanced to the quarterfinals.

[사진 출처 : AFP=연합뉴스]