36-Year-Old Luka Modric Turns Into Prime Alessandro Nesta With Inch-Perfect Tackle On Lionel Messi And Denies PSG Counterattack

Real Madrid star Luka Modric channelled his inner Alessandro Nesta by producing an incredible inch-perfect tackle on Paris Saint-Germain superstar Lionel Messi.

Karim Benzema’s sensational second-half hat-trick fired Madrid to a 3-1 Champions League comeback win at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.

Madrid-linked Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring in the first half in stunning fashion, but PSG unravelled in the second half and blew a 2-0 aggregate lead.

Modric played an influential role on the pitch for Madrid, with the Croatian metronome splicing the PSG midfield in the build-up to Benzema’s second of the night.

Ahead of Benzema’s brace, the 36-year-old Madrid midfielder produced a wonderful tackle on Messi to deny PSG launching a counter-attack late in the second half.

“What a player. Still bossing that midfield in the biggest stage like that with his age right now. Brilliant. Top class,” one fan tweeted.

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While another wrote: “After this tackle, Messi knew he is finished...”

Someone else commented: “Great tackle and you know what? Great reaction from Messi. Just gets up. So many players would have rolled about there and feigned injury.”

And a fourth Twitter user posted: “This tackle was sooo [sic] clean, even Messi must have respected it.”

Messi, who signed for PSG last summer on a free transfer, was slammed by furious fans for failing to make an impact in the second-leg Champions League tie.

The 34-year-old Argentine ace was not a happy man with PSG teammate Marco Verratti after the 29-year-old Italian didn’t pass to him during first-half injury time.

Following PSG’s exit from the Champions League last 16, Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said his side “suffered a lot” before producing “magic” at the Bernabeu.

When asked about Madrid’s comeback win, he said: “We suffered a lot but held on.

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“We had problems getting the ball, but good pressure from Karim allowed us to equalise and then the magic of the Bernabeu appeared.

“From 1-1, there was only one team going to win.”

Ancelotti added: “They’re better every day. I have the pleasure of working with them.

“Karim had an injury and now he’s back. Luka always plays at his best, wherever he plays.”

Featured Image Credit: BT Sport/Twitter

Topics: Real Madrid, La Liga, Spain, Luka Modric, Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1, France, Lionel Messi, Champions League, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

@AdnanRiaz9