Football has a knack for producing heroes in the most unexpected places, and few moments capture that better than a goalkeeper popping up with a decisive goal.
Benfica experienced exactly that kind of madness on a Champions League night that will be remembered for years.
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Deep into stoppage time, with the clock ticking past 98 minutes, Anatoliy Trubin left his goal and surged into Real Madrid’s penalty area for one final attack. Amid the chaos, the Ukrainian found space and finished clinically, sealing a 4-2 win and confirming Benfica’s place in the Champions League play-off round.
The goal was historic on several levels. It marked the first time a Benfica goalkeeper has ever scored in an official match, and it dramatically altered the group’s outcome, knocking Real Madrid out of the ‘top 8’.
What seemed like a desperate last roll of the dice turned into a moment of pure Champions League theatre. Trubin’s strike also placed him into an extraordinarily exclusive club. Across the entire history of the Champions League proper, only five goalkeepers have ever scored.
Hans-Jörg Butt leads the way with three goals, all calmly converted from the penalty spot. Sinan Bolat delivered the competition’s first goal from open play, heading home a last-gasp equaliser in 2009. Vincent Enyeama added his name from twelve yards with a composed penalty for Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2010, while Ivan Provedel produced one of the modern era’s most memorable moments, rescuing a draw for Lazio with a stoppage-time header in 2023.
