Benfica delivered one of the most dramatic moments of their Champions League campaign as a late goal by Anatoliy Trubin sealed a 4-2 win over Real Madrid.
The match appeared to be drifting toward a tense conclusion before an extraordinary final passage turned the night on its head and left Madrid with no chance to recover.
Benfica were already in front as stoppage time unfolded, but the situation still demanded one last decisive action, and it arrived in the most unexpected way, as Trubin sealed the game.
Jose Mourinho explains the thinking behind it
Jose Mourinho spoke after the match and addressed the moment that defined the contest, offering insight into why the late gamble did not come as a shock to him.
“For me everything is deja vu, but this is for the first time. We knew that he could do it. We were losing in Porto a couple of weeks ago and he went up there and almost scored, so we know the big guy is capable of this,” he said.
The comments reflected a sense of familiarity rather than surprise, with Mourinho pointing to prior experience that informed his confidence in the decision.
Rather than viewing the situation as reckless, he framed it as a calculated risk shaped by previous moments where similar choices had nearly paid off.
A finish that reshaped the night
As the match entered its final seconds, Real Madrid were already operating with a numerical disadvantage, which opened the door for Benfica to apply one last wave of pressure.
The hosts committed bodies forward for a late delivery, and the goalkeeper made the decision to leave his area and join the attack.
The move proved decisive, with the ball arriving into a crowded penalty area where he was able to connect cleanly and direct a header past Thibaut Courtois.
The strike arrived with virtually no time remaining, immediately ending the contest and removing any possibility of a response.
What followed was an instant shift in focus, with the final goal eclipsing everything else that had happened earlier in the match.
By the final whistle, the narrative had been rewritten, with the goalkeeper’s intervention standing as the defining image of the night and a moment that ensured Benfica closed the game on their own terms.
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