Karim Benzema’s second-half hat-trick secured Real Madrid a place in the Champions League quarter-finals as they came back from 2-0 down on aggregate to win 3-2 and send Paris Saint-Germain crashing out of Europe.
Thierry Henry, observing the match for the CBS Sports channel, confesses his admiration.
“He is 34 years old, I have always admired him a lot, he can do everything, come and ask in the middle, make others play, score in the area.
This is what has made him one of the best No.9s for many years now. He will go down in football history for a long time. (…) If you look at what he has done on the pitch for years, even as a youngster in Lyon, it’s just incredible. His statistics, as we say in French, hats off. »
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring to extend PSG’s advantage from the first leg – after getting on the end of Neymar’s first-time left-footed through ball – with a near-post finish (39) that Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois could only get a touch on.
Benzema equalized in the 61st minute before going on to add two more goals in the 76th and 78th minutes.
