Anatoliy Trubin became just the fifth different goalkeeper to score in the UEFA Champions League with his goal for Benfica against Real Madrid. We look back at a night on which he was the unlikeliest of goalscoring heroes for the Portuguese side.
José Mourinho stood on the touchline, his clothes soaked through thanks to the torrential rain in Lisbon, a bittersweet look on his face.
He was on the verge of orchestrating a win against one of his former clubs. Beating Real Madrid is something most managers or clubs would be proud of achieving, but despite leading 3-2 at Estádio da Luz with seconds remaining on Wednesday night, it looked as though the overriding feeling for Benfica would be failure.
The scoreline wouldn’t be enough to progress any further in the UEFA Champions League, with the Portuguese club set to miss out on a place in the play-offs on goal difference to Marseille. The Ligue 1 side had been beaten 3-0 in Brugge, and that match, along with the 16 others played on a frantic final night of UCL league phase action, had ended. Only Benfica vs Real Madrid was still going, and everyone was watching. All they needed was one more goal.
A second caution for Rodrygo added more time onto the original five minutes displayed by the fourth official. The second red card on the night for Real Madrid not only gave Benfica a two-man numerical advantage on the pitch for one final attack, but it also gave them extra seconds to achieve a miracle.
Anatoliy Trubin had conceded twice to a prolific Kylian Mbappé but saved four other shots on target to maintain Benfica’s one-goal advantage. Punting a long kick into the Madrid half would hopefully provide one last-gasp attempt to find the goal they needed. David Alaba headed away, but only to Fredrik Aursnes who, seconds later, was apparently impeded by Jude Bellingham. It was the softest of free-kicks to award, but referee Davide Massa had provided Benfica a lifeline.
The Benfica substitutes and coaching staff hugged the touchline in anticipation. The TV cameras locked onto Mourinho. He looked composed and calm, almost as if his experience in the dugout gave him an insight into what would happen next. The Portuguese coach pointed to Trubin and directed him for one last opportunity.
Two weeks earlier, Benfica lost a Taça de Portugal semi-final away at Porto. One-nil down in the fifth minute of added time, they won a corner and Trubin was sent forward by his manager. Making a nuisance of himself in the Porto box, the goalkeeper tussled with defenders before meeting Heorhii Sudakov’s set-piece with a header. On that occasion, it flew over the bar, but Mourinho knew 6-foot-6 Trubin could make his presence known from such situations.
This time around, Aursnes picked himself up off the sodden pitch to take the free-kick. The clock ticked to 97:13 as he began his run-up, Trubin on the edge of the box, darting into the line of Real Madrid players attempting to keep them out. With the addition of the goalkeeper, Benfica outnumbered Real Madrid eight attackers to five defenders. Three seconds later, pandemonium.
Trubin rose between Federico Valverde and Alaba, barging teammate Leandro Barreiro out of his way, before directing a bullet header past Thibaut Courtois. This would not only be the final act of the match, but the last touch of the 2025-26 league phase overall. Benfica advanced to the play-offs on goal difference at the expense of Marseille.
A Chaotic night explained
Champions LeagueA Chaotic Champions League Matchday 8 in Six Key Stories
4 hours ago Ali Tweedale, Matt FurnissIt was the first time in European history that Real Madrid had conceded a goal from an opposition goalkeeper. It was just the seventh Champions League goal ever by a goalkeeper, and it helped Mourinho secure his first ever win against former club Real Madrid at the sixth attempt. Before this, his five unsuccessful attempts to secure victory over Madrid was more than any other side he’s yet to orchestrate a win against.
Trubin’s header was his 1,568th touch in his Champions League career. None of the previous 1,567 had been in the opposition’s half. He was the only goalkeeper to attempt a shot in the league phase across the 144 matches.
Benfica reached the play-offs in less than a fifth of the Opta supercomputer’s 10,000 simulations before last night’s games kicked off (18.4%). That chance was down at under 0.1% as the game in Lisbon entered added time.
Now, thanks to Trubin’s miracle goal, Mourinho and Benfica could come up against Real Madrid again in the play-offs after finishing bottom and top of the play-off qualification spots, respectively.
Maybe next time, Madrid will mark Trubin at a set-piece if he is directed to go forward.
Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
The Miracle Man: How Goalscoring Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin Became Benfica’s Unlikely Hero Opta Analyst.
Hence then, the article about the miracle man how goalscoring goalkeeper anatoliy trubin became benfica s unlikely hero was published today ( ) and is available on The Analyst ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The Miracle Man: How Goalscoring Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin Became Benfica’s Unlikely Hero )
Also on site :