Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored one of the most dramatic Champions League goals in recent memory to give Benfica a stunning 4-2 victory over 15-time winners Real Madrid.
The magical moment came in the 98th minute of a memorable match that was jam-packed with six goals, two red cards, and buckets of drama from start to finish.
The timing and importance of the goal were huge – it fired Benfica through to the play-offs – but the fact that it came from the most unlikely of sources – a goalkeeper! – means it will long live in the memory.
Benfica led 3-2 heading into the dying seconds, but with Real Madrid reduced to nine men deep into stoppage time, the hosts knew that they desperately needed one more goal to avoid a cruel league-phase exit on goal difference.
With seconds left on the clock, Benfica won a free-kick, and Trubin wasted no time sprinting down the other end of the pitch to join his teammates in the Real Madrid box. Fredrik Aursnes whipped in a perfect delivery, and Trubin did the rest, thundering a pinpoint header past the helpless Thibaut Courtois in the 98th minute, which sparked scenes of absolute pandemonium and, in turn, stamped the Ukrainian into the history books.
After all, only four other goalkeepers have achieved the rare feat of scoring a Champions League goal. Below, we’ve explored these players in more detail.
Hans-Jörg Butt (Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen & Bayern Munich) – 2000, 2002 & 2009
Only five goalkeepers have ever experienced the stunning high of scoring a Champions League goal, one of whom has done so on three occasions – yes THREE.
Step forward: Hans-Jörg Butt.
Butt stands alone as the competition’s most prolific goalkeeper, netting three Champions League goals for three different clubs, all against the same unfortunate opponent: Juventus.
Butt made history during the 2000-01 group stages when he became the first-ever keeper to score in the Champions League. An expert penalty-taker, the keeper stepped up in the 72nd minute to fire Hamburger SV level at 3-3 with Juventus, in a pulsating game that finished 4-4.
The following season Butt struck again – once more from the spot – this time for Bayer Leverkusen during their 3-1 win at home to Juventus.
Butt completed his unique hat-trick in the 2009-10 campaign, scoring Bayern Munich’s opener in a stunning 4-1 victory in Turin, leaving Juventus well and truly sick of the sight of him.
Across his club career, Butt scored a remarkable 29 goals in 496 appearances, including 20 goals in 147 games for Hamburger, and even finished their 1999-00 campaign as the club’s joint-top scorer!
One final footnote on Butt. He once converted a penalty for Bayer Leverkusen against Schalke, only to concede straight from the restart, having been caught out of position after celebrating a little too enthusiastically.
Sinan Bolat (Standard Liege) – 2009
Just 24 hours after Hans-Jörg Butt netted his third and final Champions League goal, history was made again – this time in France – as Sinan Bolat became the second goalkeeper to score in the competition and the first to do so from open play.
With Standard Liege trailing 1-0 at home to AZ Alkmaar, the hosts were awarded a 95th-minute free-kick. Bolat sprinted the length of the pitch and leapt like a salmon to head in a dramatic equaliser.
While the goal wasn’t enough to take Standard Liege into the knockout stages, it did see them leapfrog AZ into third place, securing a spot in the Europa League and cementing Bolat’s place in Champions League folklore.
Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv) – 2010
The following season, 2010-11, Vincent Enyeama became the first African keeper to score in a Champions League game after he slotted home from the spot in Hapoel Tel Aviv’s 3-1 group stage defeat to Lyon.
Just a month earlier, the Nigerian had scored from the spot to help give Hapoel Tel Aviv a 3-2 win away to Salzburg in their Champions League play-off first-leg.
We’ll leave you with this legendary quote from the man himself: “I have been blessed with the ability to use my legs up front and I’ve been blessed with the ability to use my hands back in goal.”
Ivan Provedel (Lazio) – 2023
We had to wait another 13 years for another goalkeeper to join the party. This time it was the turn of Ivan Provedel, who scored a 95th-minute equaliser for Lazio against Atletico Madrid at the Stadio Olimpico during the opening Group E game of the 2023-24 season.
Provedel had ventured forward for a late corner and, while the corner was cleared, he remained in the box. The correct decision, as seconds later Provedel raced on to a Luis Alberto cross to head home and rescue a point, igniting scenes of wild celebration.
Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica) – 2026
Anatoliy Trubin became the fifth goalkeeper to score in the Champions League in January 2026 when he scored the goal that fired Jose Mourinho’s Benfica into the play-offs.
Benfica were leading Spanish giants Real Madrid 3-2 with just seconds left on the clock, but results elsewhere meant that they simply had to score another in order to finish in the top-24 and secure a play-off place.
Benfica won a free-kick and Trubin surged forward, rising to power home a decisive header and send the Estádio da Luz into raptures, sealing one of the most extraordinary moments in recent Champions League history.
