Real Madrid have progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League courtesy of a 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their last-16 tie at Bernabeu.
Los Blancos trailed 1-0 from the first leg of the contest last month, with Kylian Mbappe's late goal meaning that Mauricio Pochettino's side had a lead to protect in the Spanish capital.
Mbappe sent PSG two goals ahead in the tie in the 39th minute, but Karim Benzema netted a second-half hat-trick to send Carlo Ancelotti's side into the last eight with a 3-2 aggregate success.
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Mbappe thought that he had scored the game's first goal in the 34th minute when he found the back of the net with a brilliant finish, but the effort was chalked off, with Nuno Mendes offside in the build-up.
Benzema was carrying the biggest threat for Real Madrid in the first half, with the forward coming close in the 25th minute, but PSG continued to cause problems on the counter-attack and managed to take a two-goal lead in the tie in the 39th minute of the contest.
Neymar's wonderful pass released Mbappe, who broke into a shooting position before sweeping his effort home at the near post, leaving Real Madrid with a lot of work to do at Bernabeu.
Mbappe could be heading for Los Blancos on a free transfer this summer, but there were no muted celebrations from the Frenchman, who was at his best during a brilliant performance.
The attacker had the ball in the back of the Real Madrid net for a third time in the 54th minute, but once again the offside flag was raised, denying him a wonderful goal, where he demonstrated brilliant footwork.
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Real Madrid had one back in the 61st minute when Benzema forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a mistake before firing a low Vinicius Junior cross into the back of the net.
Benzema then levelled the aggregate scores in the 76th minute when he collected a pass from Luka Modric before firing the ball past Donnarumma from close range.
The Frenchman was not finished, though, and expertly placed the ball into the bottom corner for his hat-trick after a mistake from Marquinhos had seen it break for the striker in a dangerous position.
The treble has taken Benzema to 309 goals for Real Madrid, moving ahead of Alfredo Di Stefano in the charts, with only Raul (323) and Cristiano Ronaldo (450) netting more for the capital giants.
Los Blancos could have scored more in the latter stages, with PSG losing their way after placing themselves in such a commanding performance, and Ancelotti's side will be present in the final eight, with the French giants left wondering what might have been.
Matt Law
