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Unbelievable scenes
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Having 18 games in one night is always likely to cause drama, and that came in abundance in the final matchday of the 2025/26 Champions League league phase. However, nobody could have predicted the finale we witnessed. In the very last minute of the game at Benfica, the scenes were truly unbelievable. José Mourinho's Benfica led 3-2 against Spanish giants Real Madrid, but although that was enough to deny Los Blancos a place in the top eight and therefore into the round of 16, it wasn't enough to keep the Portuguese side in the competition. Cue goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.
In the very last minute the 24-year-old goalkeeper got the go ahead to go forward for a free-kick. The Ukrainian then remarkably got his head on the end of the cross and nodded the ball into the back of the net to keep his team in the competition, sending them into 24th position on goal difference. Trubin became just the fifth goalkeeper to score in the Champions League since the competition's revamp in the 1992/93 season and joins Hans-Jörg Butt, Sinan Bolat, Vincent Enyeama and Ivan Provedel on the list.
Who is Anatoliy Trubin?
Trubin is, in fact, one of the most highly-rated young keepers in the game. He was signed by Benfica in 2023 for €10 million from Shakhtar Donetsk. But has since seen his market value skyrocket. The current figure stands at €28m, which makes him the joint-10th most valuable goalkeeper on the planet. He is also the third most valuable keeper in the world, aged 24 or younger, only behind 23-year-old Bart Verbruggen (€35m), and 24-year-old Lucas Chevalier (€35m). He stands very tall at 1.99 metres, which certainly made a difference against Real Madrid.
Not for the usual reasons for a goalkeeper, but a lot more people will become aware of Trubin after his latest heroics. Not many moments in football beat a last-minute goal from a goalkeeper. Benfica will now play against either Real Madrid again or last year's finalists, Inter Milan, in the play-off round. The former will certainly keep a close eye on Trubin should he make any other dashes forward for set-pieces.
