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Benfica provided an all-time moment in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Already up 3-2 on Real Madrid, Benfica needed another goal to ensure a spot in the knockout round of the tournament. The match was awarded five extra minutes of stoppage time and was already in the eighth minute when pandemonium ensued.
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Anatoliy Trubin of Benfica celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal with a header during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD8 match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid C.F. at Estadio do SL Benfica on Ja. 28, 2026 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Octavio Passos/UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Benfica was awarded a foul near Real Madrid’s goal and essentially received another chance to score. The free kick was placed perfectly in the box when Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, who was down in the area for extra support, nailed a header into the back of the net.
Trubin celebrated as he was mobbed by his teammates. Benfica, a club led by Jose Mourinho, pushed into the knockout phase in 24th place of the tournament.
“I didn’t know what we needed. Then I saw everyone telling me to go up. I also saw our coach, so I went up, went into the box, and I don’t know… I don’t know what to say,” Trubin said. “Crazy moment. I don’t know what to say. I’m not used to scoring. I’m 24 years old and it’s the first time. Unbelievable.”
The goal also meant Real Madrid, a club that Mourinho formerly managed, dropped out of the top eight that automatically qualified for the round of 16.
Benfica’s head coach Jose Mourinho celebrates at the end of a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Benfica and Real Madrid, in Lisbon, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
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“I had no idea if 3-2 was enough, I had no indication. When the free kick came, I sent Trubin up front,” Mourinho said. “This victory is historic and important, even more so from a prestige point of view.”
Trubin became the fifth goalkeeper to have scored in the Champions League proper, according to UEFA. He was the first since Ivan Provedel scored for Lazio in a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in 2023.
“We knew that he could do it,” Mourinho said. “We were losing in Porto a couple of weeks ago, and in the last minute, he went up, and he almost scored. So we know that the big guy is capable of this. The quality of the service, of course, is the most important thing. You have to put the ball there, but it’s an amazing goal for the guy.”
Benfica isn’t exactly a household name to the fair-weather soccer fan.
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, left, vies for the ball with Benfica’s Fredrik Aursnes during a Champions League opening phase soccer match between Benfica and Real Madrid, in Lisbon, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)
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The Portuguese club competes in Primeira Liga – the first tier in Portugal pro soccer. It is currently third in its table and hasn’t won its league since the 2022-23 season. The club made it as far as the Round of 16 in the 2024-25 season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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