Mauricio Pochettino said referee Danny Makkelie's decision to not call a foul against Karim Benzema in the build-up to Real Madrid's first goal against PSG on Wednesday night was key in his team's defeat.
PSG had led 1-0 from the first leg, and doubled their advantage through Kylian Mbappé six minutes before half-time in the second leg.
However, a 17-minute hat-trick from Benzema turned the tie in Real Madrid's favour. The Spanish side's equalising goal came after PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma dawdled on the ball in his penalty area and Benzema almost caught him in possession.
1-1 at the Bernabeu!!! 🏟
A HUGE mistake from Donnarumma gifts Vinicius an easy pass to Benzema, who taps in from close range! ⚪️#UCL pic.twitter.com/1oFZ51LSgL— Watch the UCL on LiveScore 🇮🇪 (@LiveScoreIE) March 9, 2022
"Explaining what happened is easy," said Pochettino.
"There was a foul on Donnarumma on the first goal, and that changed everything.
"It’s hard not to talk about this big refereeing error, which I don’t understand and I won’t forgive.
"I don’t understand why the referee didn’t call for VAR. From then on everything changed in the stadium. Our players were upset, even if we must recognise that we made mistakes."
15 minutes after his first goal, Benzema added a second when the superb Luka Modric found him in the box. His hat-trick goal, the one which sent Real Madrid through to the quarter-finals, came just moments later.
𝗢𝗛 𝗠𝗬 𝗚𝗢𝗗 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗭𝗘𝗠𝗔!!! ⚽️⚽️⚽️
The Frenchman gets his third straight from kick-off to put Real Madrid 3-2 up in the tie! #UCL pic.twitter.com/ZhUZeHVV5E— Watch the UCL on LiveScore 🇮🇪 (@LiveScoreIE) March 9, 2022
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