UCL: Benzema, Ancelotti hail "Magical Night"

French forward Karim Benzema said Real Madrid showed they are still "alive" by completing a thrilling comeback to defeat Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday and reach the Champions League quarter-finals. 

Madrid trailed 2-0 on aggregate when Kylian Mbappe put PSG in front at the Santiago Bernabeu but Benzema scored a stunning second-half hat-trick, including two goals in two minutes, to send his team through.

"Every game is a final now for us in the Champions League and La Liga but today we showed that Real Madrid is alive," Benzema said afterwards.

"We know PSG like to have the ball. We started well, we tried to score and in the second half we won the match with our mental strength," Benzema added.

At 34 years old, Benzema is the oldest player to score a hat-trick in Champions League history.

"We won a very difficult game, which got a lot more complicated after Mbappe's goal," said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.

"We suffered a lot. Then we pushed higher which was what we wanted to do.

"We scored the first goal and from there everything changed. The fans pushed us and we believed more, more and more. It was a spectacular night."

He added: "We suffered, but we held on. In the first half it was difficult to get the ball back. The first goal came and from there the magic of this stadium came.

"In the last 30 minutes there was only one team on the field."

Ancelotti also hailed his bench and the influence of Rodrygo and Eduardo Camavinga.

"They were important, they changed the dynamic of the game. The freshness of Rodrygo and  Camavinga changed the game. Camavinga gave us more energy in midfield. It was a magical night."

Continued the Italian coach: “We’re all very happy and excited. There’s not many more words for it. I think all Madridistas are happy and that’s the most important thing. We suffered a lot, but stayed in there. It was tough to win the ball back in the first half, but one good press from Karim gave us the first goal and then the magic of this stadium happened. It’s not hard to explain.

"The fans gave us energy and killed the opponent. There was only one team on the pitch for the final 30 minutes. I’ve had many nights in this competition, but there’s not many nights like this one. If it becomes a truly unforgettable night, it’ll mean we’ve gone far in this year’s Champions League.”

Asked if Real Madrid are now favourites to win this year’s Champions League, Ancelotti didn’t want to go that far. He said: “We can compete against any team. After the first leg people said we had no chance, but things have changed. We played better in this game. We had character. We had some luck too, but we deserved the luck we had in our first goal.”