Legendary Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti broke yet another record in his star-studded career after a Karim Benzema hattrick stunned Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday to take Real Madrid to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
While PSG travelled to Madrid with a 1-0 advantage from the reverse fixture and also opened the scoring through a well-taken Kylian Mbappe goal, it was Real Madrid who got the last laugh, courtesy of a masterclass from French maestro Benzema.
Real Madrid’s victory over Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG saw Ancelotti become the first manager ever to reach the Champions League quarter-finals in four consecutive decades.
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Ancelotti had earlier led Juventus to the last eight of the Champions League in 1999, marking the beginning of his four-decade-long run.
The Italian has also won the Champions League thrice, twice with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007, and once with Real Madrid in 2014.
Ancelotti, however, wasn’t the only one who broke a record on Wednesday.
The 3-1 victory over PSG also marked a milestone for Real Madrid, who reached a record 37th European Cup quarter-final.
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34-year-old Karim Benzema, meanwhile, became the oldest player to bag a hattrick in Champions League, overtaking his compatriot Olivier Giroud.
Commenting on Benzema’s 18-minute hattrick, an impressed Ancelotti told RMC Sport, “Benzema made all of Madrid happy. It was a difficult match, especially in the first half, where we struggled. Our first goal changed everything, in the stands but also on the pitch. Paris played well for an hour with a lot of quality. But after the first goal, the dynamic changed. We had a lot of energy.”
Real Madrid on Wednesday joined Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Manchester City in the last eight of the tournament, and the remaining four teams will be determined after next week’s fixtures.