SL Benfica and Sporting CP have qualified for the next stages of the UEFA Champions League, each scoring decisive last-minute goals to achieve their objectives.
At Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Benfica was leading Real Madrid 3-2 in the final minutes of the match after a dominant performance against the 15-time European champions thanks to a brace by Andreas Schjelderup and a penalty by Vangelis Pavldis, and players clearly believed the result would be enough to see the team through to the knock-out phase playoff draw. But a combination of results in other matches meant that Benfica had to score one more goal to overcome Marseille in the standings and secure the final spot in the playoffs.
With just seconds to go and a free kick in their favour, Benfica coach José Mourinho ordered goalkeeper Anatoly Trubin to run up to the opposing box in hopes of helping his team score the decisive goal. And that is exactly what happened. The nearly two-metre tall goalkeeper headed home a historic goal, securing Benfica’s spot in the playoffs. Euphoric celebrations followed as teammates chased after Trubin to celebrate his jaw-dropping header.
After the match, the Ukrainian keeper admitted he was not even aware Benfica had to score another goal right up until the free kick.
“I didn’t know what we needed,” he said. “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.”
With the 4-2 victory, Benfica ended the league phase with nine points, the same as Marseille, Pafos FC, and Union Saint Gilloise, but with a better goal difference.
At the same time in Bilbao, Spain, Sporting CP capped off an amazing league phase with a 3-2 away victory in the final moments of the match, with super sub Allison Santos scoring the decisive goal which not only secured the Lions’ spot in the top-eight of the league phase – meaning they have qualified directly for the round of 16 – but also meant Benfica would finish ahead of Athletic Bilbao. In other words, Sporting’s victory ended up helping their historic rivals.
With an impressive 16 points, Sporting finished seventh in the league phase with the same points as European giants such as Barcelona, Chelsea, and Manchester City.
The positive results by both Portuguese teams also mean Portugal has overtaken Netherlands in the UEFA national associations’ ranking and is now placed sixth – meaning that if Portugal maintains the sixth spot, it will gain an additional Champions League spot starting in the 2027/2028 season.
