Cristiano Ronaldo comfortably won his personal duel with Neymar as the Portuguese forward came up with a vital brace as Real Madrid came from behind to beat Paris Saint-Germain in a pulsating UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash first leg tie at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.

Knocked out of the Copa del Rey and out of contention in the La Liga, Los Blancos had it all to do when Les Parisiens midfielder Adrien Rabiot took advantage of some slack defending to put the hosts ahead in the 34th minute.

Zinedine Zidane had opted to bench Gareth bale in favour of Isco while Unai Emery dropped Thiago Silva for Presnel Kimpenbe but it was the Real Madrid tactician who was definitely feeling the heat as half-time approached.

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Ronaldo would miss a gilt-edged chance and just as it seemed that PSG would reach the interval with their lead intact, disaster struck as midfielder Giovani Lo Celso brought down Toni Kroos inside the box seconds before the first-half was brought to a close.

Real Madrid’s iconic No.7 stepped up and beat Alphonse Areola with a low effort to register the equaliser and his 100th UEFA Champions League goal for Los Blancos.

The second period started with Real dominant, but PSG continued to threaten with their forwards’ sizzling pace on the counter and Kylian Mbappe and Rabiot could have given them the lead on another day perhaps with some well-worked chances.

As the hour-mark neared, Zidane sent on Bale but the Welshman was ineffective and the second-half really sprang to life when the Frenchman made a double change later on, bringing on the likes of Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez to inject some pace into their attack.

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Asensio would set up Ronaldo for the second goal, sending in a low cross that was parried into the Portuguese’s path by Areola in the 83rd minute. Ronaldo showed presence of mind to guide the ball into the back of the net with his thigh and minutes later, the hosts doubled their lead with Asensio providing the assist yet again, this time for fullback Marcelo.

The Brazilian’s shot took a slight defelction, but it was nothing Los Blancos didn’t deserve as they were definitely the stronger of the sides as the match came to a close.

PSG have an away goal in the bag and thus, are still in the tie but the holders definitely hold the edge and will be favourites to progress when the second leg is played at the Parc des Princes on March 6.

In the other tie on the night, Liverpool flattened FC Porto 5-0 away, with Sadio Mane netting his first hat-trick of the season while the likes of Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah also getting in on the goals.