Goalkeeper Trubin celebrates after scoring, helping Benfica defeat Real 4-2 in the Champions League group stage at Da Luz stadium, Lisbon, Portugal on 28/1/2026. Photo: Reuters

"Unimaginable even in a dream!" many European commentators exclaimed after witnessing the game at Da Luz stadium. Host Benfica ultimately defeated Real 4-2, truly squeezing through a narrow gate to remain in the 2025-2026 Champions League with a playoff ticket to the round of 16.

As the game entered the sixth minute of added time, Benfica led Real 3-2. However, the Portuguese representative was still stuck at 25th place in the rankings, while the 24th position secured a playoff spot. Immediately above Jose Mourinho’s team was Marseille. Both teams had 9 points and a goal difference of -3 at that time. But Benfica ranked lower because they had scored fewer goals: 9 compared to the French team’s 11.

This meant Benfica needed one more goal to completely change the situation. If they succeeded, their goal difference would shift from -3 to -2, allowing them to climb to 24th place and knock Marseille out of the competition. According to regulations, goal difference is considered first in cases where two teams have equal points.

Mourinho’s players were unaware of this context. Home goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin leisurely wasted time, delaying a free kick in his own half. The 63-year-old coach had already substituted all four attacking players, including both goal scorers, Vangelis Pavlidis and Andreas Schjelderup. Benfica was attempting to secure the victory, believing that regardless of other match results, earning all three points would be enough to reach the playoffs.

Just as Trubin was casually taking the free kick, someone on the Benfica bench suddenly realized the situation. All other matches on the final group stage day had already concluded. Thanks to lengthy injury times in the first half, the second half at Da Luz started six to seven minutes later than the other 17 matches. Initially, this detail seemed minor, but it proved to be crucial.

It allowed Benfica to realize they had not yet qualified to stay in the tournament. One more goal was the ultimate objective. Mourinho’s assistants and the reserve players, who had been quietly awaiting the final whistle, suddenly transformed into a chaotic crowd, wildly waving their arms and shouting, urging Trubin to push the ball forward quickly. They understood that they could not continue to defend.

"When I made the last changes, people told me it was enough", Mourinho told CBS after the match. "Then a few seconds later, they told us we needed one more goal. But I had no more substitutions left..."

Trubin finally launched the ball upfield. Benfica earned a corner kick near the right touchline in Real’s half. The clock ticked towards the 98th minute. Arms waved from the sidelines again, this time signaling the goalkeeper to push forward. Mourinho, with a poker face, waved towards his former team’s goal, a message akin to: "Everyone attack!" It was an all-in gamble, a desperate effort. Losing 3-2 would still mean Benfica’s elimination, let alone drawing 3-3.

Fredrik Aursnes crossed the ball into Real’s penalty area, where Trubin and seven other red shirts were waiting. At that moment, Real had only 9 players on the field after red cards for Raul Asencio and Rodrygo. Opposing Benfica’s attacking group were only five Real defenders, along with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois; one player formed a wall, while the remaining two, Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe, stood high up the pitch awaiting counter-attacking opportunities.

If Benfica went all-in, so did Real. They were losing and had fallen out of the top 8; conceding one more goal would not change their situation. But if they could snatch the ball after that free kick and launch a quick counter-attack, they might score, equalize 3-3, and one point would bring Real back into the top 8.

Then, time seemed to stand still. A perfect pass was delivered. But no matter how beautifully the ball flew, the seemingly impossible still appeared unlikely. Trubin jumped, slightly mistiming it. He leaned too far forward, the jump of someone not accustomed to this.

In fact, he had never done it before. In his career, across 40 Champions League appearances, it was the first time Trubin was about to make a touch in the opponent’s half, after 1,567 previous touches all in his own half.

And that touch from Trubin, as the ball found his forehead, flew directly towards Courtois’s goal. The ball went into the net. Football is brilliant and inspiring, but rarely do the threads of fate intertwine so perfectly to create such a moment.

"We are not strong in aerial duels, but that giant came up to attack and scored a spectacular goal", Mourinho calmly commented on the headed goal by his player, who stands exactly 2 meters tall, the same as Courtois.

Immediately, one corner of the Da Luz stadium witnessed a "swarm of bees scattering", hugs, and an outpouring of emotion. Trubin ran back towards his own half in the way goalkeepers often do when they score: they do not know how to celebrate because they have never experienced that feeling.

Looking back, the last time a goalkeeper scored in Champions League history was in mid-september 2023, by Ivan Provedel for Lazio against Atletico Madrid. Further back, Vincent Enyeama scored for Hapoel Tel Aviv against Lyon in late september 2010, and Sinan Bolat for Standard Liege against AZ Alkmaar in december 2009. Or the record three goals by Hans-Jorg Butt in 2000, 2002, and 2009 while playing for Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen, and Bayern Munich, all against the same victim, Juventus.

Trubin’s face showed clear astonishment, almost confusion. He had run about 20 meters celebrating, managing a smooth knee slide, before being submerged under layers of teammates flooding in from all directions.

After the final play of that match, Courtois sought out and embraced his Ukrainian counterpart. Even having just been beaten by another goalkeeper in the 98th minute, Real’s custodian still earned admiration.

After the moment, Mourinho turned to the stands, punching the air. He then ran to the left flank, separating from the crowd. A boy, about 13 years old, who was a ball boy, rushed to hug the coach born in 1963, and both celebrated together.

Mourinho celebrates with a ball boy after Trubin scored. Photo: AP

Benfica fully deserved this result. They had played much better for the first 70 minutes. Had the first half ended 4-1, no one would have complained. In the final 20 minutes, they showed signs of fatigue. Mourinho seemed hesitant to make substitutions, perhaps because he did not have many quality options left.

Real had pressed during that period, especially as results on other pitches pushed them out of the top 8, losing their direct qualification spot. Everything seemed destined to be a "glorious but failed" night for Benfica. Until Trubin appeared.

Benfica will learn their playoff opponent on 30/1. It could be Real again, or Inter Milan – another one of Mourinho’s former teams.

Trubin’s moment of brilliance would be a beautiful moment even if it did not carry much significance. But in reality, it saved Benfica’s entire season. They had been eliminated from both domestic cup competitions a few weeks prior. In the national league, they were struggling in third place, 10 points behind league leaders Porto. Last weekend, 200 angry fans gathered at the training ground demanding answers from President Rui Costa about the team’s poor performance. The atmosphere was already tense, but this goal will surely calm some hot heads.

"Benfica will lose again, and they will try to 'kill' us again", Mourinho said in his characteristic style after the match. "The only thing I want is a little respect".

He certainly earned that, at least for now. Because Trubin’s moment was "absolutely cinematic".

Hoang Thong