Benzema hat-trick stuns PSG as Real finally find their mojo

Carlo Ancelotti had said there was no need to go mad but no one was listening and why would they now? Suddenly there were a dozen men running down the touchline chasing Karim Benzema, the Frenchman disappearing under a pile of bodies while all round them 60,000 people completely lost their heads

- Sid Lowe

Real Madrid 3

Benzema 61 76 78

Paris Saint-Germain 1

Mbappé 39

Real Madrid win 3-2 on agg.

How they won was barely believable, maybe even the most remarkable of an entire history of implausible tales at a club that specialises in them, another astonishing comeback completed, another epic European story. They had been grateful to be only one goal down when a ridiculous gift had given them a chance and now two strikes in barely a minute had given Benzema a hat-trick that took him above Alfredo Di Stéfano in the all-time scoring charts.

There was something laughable about Madrid’s first and comic book about the second, Luka Modric running from just outside his own area all the way to PSG’s where, via Vinícius, he set up Benzema to put Madrid into the lead on the night and level on aggregate. There hadn’t even been time to digest that when they scored the third, Benzema steering past PSG, pandemonium breaking out.

Their task had been made almost impossible but it was done, as are PSG, left with another failure to contemplate. One that had been unthinkable for much of a night that ended with Madrid’s players falling to their knees, history made in the most incredible manner.