(Football news) Real Madrid's legendary forward Jaunito once said that "90 minutes at the Bernabéu is a very long time". On 9th March 2022, Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid proved him right all over again. Los Blancos lost the first leg of UCL Round of 16 against PSG by 1-0. The result was particularly heartbreaking as Madrid despite putting in one of their worst performances ever were on level terms until the last minute before Kylian Mbappe's individual brilliance cost them a 1-0 defeat.
In the return leg Mbappe once again scored, this time in the first half as Paris led 2-0 on aggregate at half time. Real Madrid needed to score 3 goals in order to come back and Karim Benzema did exactly that. Real Madrid ended up winning 3-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate to qualify for the quarter finals. PSG couldn't deal with the pressure and bottled it once again but Real Madrid deserve a lot of credit for the fight they showed. They did it without two of their most important players in Casemiro and Ferland Mendy.
Real Madrid have done things like these in the past, most recently against Wolfsburg in 2016 but this was different. Real Madrid had only 45 minutes to score 3 goals and they did it despite being the inferior team on paper. The star of the show Karim Benzema became the oldest player to score a UCL hat-trick and now has 79 UCL goals as only Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski have more. Benzema also went past the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano to become the 3rd highest goalscorer in Real Madrid's history behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul.
Even though Benzema was the only goalscorer, it was a team performance from Real Madrid. Thibaut Courtois saved Lionel Messi 's penalty in the first leg and made a few crucial saves in the second leg. The loyal and reliable Nacho filled in at left back for the suspended Mendy. David Alaba and Eder Militao were solid in defence and were chief motivators for the rest of the team. The pair have not let Madridistas miss Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane. Fede Valverde replaced Casemiro and was the engine in midfield as he ran and pressed for the entire match. 36-year-old Luka Modric once again showed his class as he set up the equaliser, ran the midfield and made some crucial tackles as well.
It seemed like Vinicius Jr on the right wing never stopped running in the match. He was heavily involved in all 3 goals in all 3 goals and was the major attacking outlet. He caused a lot of trouble to Danilo Pereira and Achraf Hakimi on multiple occasions. Rodrygo and Eduardo Camavinga came in as substitutes and changed the game with their energy and explosiveness. Lucas Vazquez also came on and played well at right back.
Real Madrid showed their experience and displayed the culture of the club. Matches like these are the reason why they are 13 time European Champions. Real Madrid were never favourites to win the UCL this season and they probably are still not but this win is a massive boost. It shows that Real at their best can defeat any team in the competition.
Also read: Barcelona and Atlético play at home; Real Madrid travel to Mallorca
