Neither Mbappé, nor Neymar nor Messi: Benzema liquidates PSG

MadridIt was supposed to be Mbappé’s night but it ended up being Benzema’s. Neither was Neymar’s or Messi’s, in a field that had been so conducive to them. The French player from Real Madrid sank an intergalactic PSG with three dizzying plays, a house record, and sank the umpteenth attempt of the Parisian team to be crowned in Europe. In case you weren’t sure, in Qatar today they better understand that football is not mathematics but epic. And that, before the 60th minute of the second half, no one would have bet on the whites. But football is a game of moments. And it is not always the best who win but the smartest, the ones who know how to interpret the designs of the ball best. And Benzema gave a real lesson in this art that is learned in the streets and that is a sum of instinct and precision. The key play in the 60th minute was fateful for the French. In principle, a safe ball reaches the goalkeeper Donnarumma, who doubts what to do with it and Benzema takes the opportunity to press it and cause the error. The porter, half-falling, sends him horizontally to Vinicius, who returns to the Frenchman and shoots the Italian.

Benzema scored a hat-trick with three goals in the 60th, 74th and 76th minutes

Real Madrid had tied the game, but not the tie, as PSG maintained a 2-1 lead thanks to Mbappé’s goal in the first half. Benzema had it once more three minutes later, but his header went just wide. It seemed then that PSG regained control of the game, with Messi combining in short with Neymar and Verrati. But you can never trust Madrid, because it’s a team that always waits for its moment, and when it attacks its field it’s like the seventh cavalry or, rather, a horde of bloodthirsty Vikings. And the Parisian nightmare came true in two minutes, between 76 and 78. With a disheveled Madrid, Benzema shot twice more a Donnaruma who did not give credit.

The big star team didn’t know how to react. Only Messi in the 90th minute tried with a free kick that did not catch the goal. But they were already desperate attempts. PSG merged into the Bernabeu as a mediocre team following giving a real football lesson for 60 minutes in which it was clearly superior. But in Madrid you can never take him for granted, even when he is clearly inferior on the pitch. White DNA was imposed by the rabid attacks driven by history and the great banner that read: We are the kings of Europe.

A great PSG until the 60th minute

But what had happened before? After the typical outing of the whites, PSG was imposing its quality, with Messi directing operations from the center of the field. The magic hat-trick caused three dangerous arrivals that Courtois neutralized before the key moment of the first half arrived. 24 minutes into the game, Benzema had a great chance to put his team ahead, but his kick from the left went wide. The Frenchman, who is already opposed to the golden ball, fired a stratospheric shot at Donnarumma’s left post. The boy-faced Italian giant stretched his body almost two meters and, with his fingertips, deflected the ball. Here the game might have changed. But no. Not yet. PSG continued theirs, stretching the team like an accordion, combining fast play with slow possessions that mesmerized the white players. In a recovery near the area the ball reached Neymar, who saw a highway where Mbappé might run. The star tricked Courtois with a hip play and shot to his right. The Bernabeu remained silent, aware that it was the fairest result seen what was happening on the pitch. Madrid tried before going to the locker room, but in reality who was regarding to score was Messi in a new combination of the three magnificent.

The second half went the same way until the 60th minute. Donnarumma’s mistake, considered by some to be the best goalkeeper in the world, leaves PSG out of the Champions League. But the reality is that PSG did not know how to react. He was reduced to the big stage of the Champions League. Like that Barça beaten in Rome or Liverpool. A familiar aroma for Messi.

Content developed by

• Cover page

• Last minute

• Find out

• Sections

• 
  

  Profile