Karim Benzema (right) of Real Madrid competes with Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma during their UEFA Champions League round of 16 second-leg match at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on March 9, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. Photo: VCG

Real Madrid pulled off one of the great Champions League comebacks on Wednesday as Karim Benzema scored a breathtaking hat trick to upstage Kylian Mbappe and dump Paris Saint-Germain out in the last 16.

Madrid were set to be the latest victims of another Mbappe master class at the Santiago Bernabeu after the 23-year-old ran them ragged for the best part of an hour and fired in to put PSG 1-0 up on the night, 2-0 ahead on aggregate.

But Madrid came storming back as Benzema capitalized on a mistake by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and then scored an incredible double in two minutes, the third coming within 11 seconds after PSG had kicked off.

When the full-time whistle confirmed their 3-2 aggregate victory, many of Madrid's players dropped to their knees and looked up to the sky, as much perhaps in disbelief as joy.

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

For PSG, it was another epic collapse to add to their growing list of Champions League disappointments, with Mauricio Pochettino's future as coach immediately cast into doubt.

Even with Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar, the Qatari-owned club's wait for a Champions League crown goes on.

"We didn't manage our emotions well. We left ourselves exposed," said Pochettino. "We leave with great pain and disappointment because we didn't score the goals to reflect our superiority over the two games."

Pochettino also fumed at referee Danny Makkelie for not whistling for a foul as Benzema challenged Donnarumma before Madrid's first goal.

"Explaining what happened is easy, there was a foul on Donnarumma during the first goal, and that changed everything," he said. 

All eyes were on Mbappe, who was the only player to be cheered by Madrid's fans before the game as they were gifted an up-close preview of the player they hope will be theirs this summer.

Mbappe delivered, scoring a superb goal, not to mention a spellbinding second that was disallowed for offside when he bamboozled Thibaut Courtois with a magical dummy.

But what looked set to become an exhibition of the world's deadliest player instead became another remarkable European night for Real Madrid and another nightmare for PSG.

"We suffered a lot but we endured," said Real boss Carlo Ancelotti. "Karim gave us the chance to score the first goal and then the magic came. From then on, there was only one team on the field."