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Karim Benzema led Real Madrid to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a hat-trick
Photo: SUSANA VERA / REUTERS
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We are in times when Champions League rounds of 16 are being broadcast on what feels like eight different channels and sometimes going 7-1, sometimes 5-0, because the gap between top European clubs is getting bigger and bigger.
Games like this one between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, which tear you out of the almost lethargic winter schedule, are all the better.
Superstars on both sides who present a breathless spectacle at the highest level.
Has anyone thought about making this a rule?
King Karim:
Almost 60,000 people came to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in a supposed post-corona world to finally pay homage to one man: Karim Benzema.
The 34-year-old is perhaps the most complete striker in Europe alongside Robert Lewandowski.
He scored three goals against Paris, in the 1-1 his start was rewarded, in the 2-1 he stayed cold in front of the goal and in the 3-1 he also showed what an outstanding technique he has: a bad pass from Marquinhos shot Benzema at full speed and directly with the outside instep flat into the right corner.
The result:
Real Madrid won 3-1 (0-1) against Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappé had given PSG the lead before Benzema.
The first leg ended 0:1.
Read the match report here.
First half:
In the first leg, Real was almost permanently pushed into their own sixteen.
Accordingly, it was surprising that things went the other way around in the early stages in Madrid.
Real got stuck in the opposing penalty area, but ran into counterattacks again and again via Kylian Mbappé.
The 23-year-old failed twice at Thibaut Courtois (7'/13') before he made another deep pass and thundered the ball into the near corner (39').
Gianluigi Donnarumma thwarted Real's greatest chance, deflecting a Benzema shot past the post with his fingertips (25').
As on the Playstation:
If you believe international media, Mbappé will move to Madrid in the summer.
If that happens, the transfer will shape the royals for years to come.
If it's not his speed, which in itself is almost unfair, an offside goal illustrated Mbappé's superiority: the striker got a ball into the penalty area in the second half, let it run through his legs and sent world-class goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with a crazy body deception to the ground to insert relaxed.
Only: it didn't count.
Second half:
In a memorable half hour, Donnarumma started, who often seems as if he doesn't care, but this time acted too cool against the oncoming Benzema, lost the ball and started the comeback (61').
After a fantastic assist from Luka Modrić, who put the ball through Presnel Kimpembe's legs into the penalty area, Benzema turned the game around (76').
But that's not all: Immediately after the kick-off, Marquinhos played the ball into Benzema's feet (78').
Real Madrid on, Paris Saint-Germain out.
Billion meltdown:
Since 2011, a Qatari investor group has had exactly one goal with PSG: the Champions League title.
For this, Qatar pumped more than a billion into the club, after Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, there was another world star with Lionel Messi last summer - and yet it will not be this year either.
Hardly anything indicated that Real would come back again.
But PSG suffered another collapse in the second half in a Champions League knockout game - after Manchester in 2019, after Barcelona in 2017.
