The 5 minutes of added time had already spilled over however the Estadio da Luz was in no hurry to empty.
With one mighty swing of the ball to avoid wasting Benfica from Champions League elimination, goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin hung within the air for what felt like an eternity earlier than one way or the other, impossibly, thundering residence a header Eusebio himself would have been pleased with.
For a cut up second there was disbelief. Then the near-70,000 contained in the stadium unleashed a sound nearer to a roar than a celebration.
Jose Mourinho ran to the closest ballboy he might discover and embraced him with a jubilation and a ardour we now have come to anticipate from the self-styled Particular One.
His aspect wanted a purpose in opposition to the workforce he as soon as presided over and, within the type of their 6ft 6in Ukrainian stopper, they bought it in probably the most extraordinary style to safe an unbelievable 4-2 win within the 97th-minute.
The brand new format in Europe’s elite competitors has its detractors however this second was certainly definitely worth the wait. Trubin’s purpose knocked Madrid into the playoff spots, too, which means Mourinho could as soon as once more face his outdated aspect come February.
Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored an unbelievable header in opposition to Actual Madrid
His purpose secured Benfica’s spot within the Champions League playoff and sparked pandemonium
The 6ft 6in stopper was surrounded by his team-mates in disbelief at what that they had simply seen
Jose Mourinho could not cover his jubilation after securing the dramatic win in opposition to his outdated membership
‘Profitable or shedding within the final play had occurred to me earlier than, however on this scenario the place you are profitable nevertheless it’s not sufficient, and then you definately assume it is sufficient nevertheless it’s not, and it’s important to change and take dangers,’ Mourinho mentioned after the sport, one way or the other making an attempt to make sense of what he had simply witnessed.
‘Profitable in opposition to Actual all the time has vital weight, however at that second we now have to go all out.
‘We’re not sturdy within the air, however the large man went there and scored a spectacular purpose. Whatever the future within the competitors, this victory is historic.’
The sport could have gone down within the historical past books even earlier than Trubin’s purpose, such was the drama. Come the top of this relentless 90 minutes, solely 9 Madrid males trundled off the park after Raul Asencio and Rodrygo have been proven pink in damage time.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s aspect arrived in Lisbon understanding a victory would safe their place within the prime eight of this competitors, and have been possible dreaming up the place and the way they’d watch the subsequent spherical of playoff fixtures after Kylian Mbappe’s opener on half-hour.
However that may be the one time this Madrid workforce would lead the sport, with Andreas Schjelderup’s two targets and a penalty from Vangelis Pavlidis sending Benfica right into a commanding lead.
Mbappe responded with one other, however with Mourinho’s aspect needing that one purpose, in opposition to his outdated workforce, there was all the time solely going to be one end result.
