Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliï Troubine scored the qualifying goal for his team against Real Madrid (4-2). But his coach did not know that he was essential to win the dams.
The goal of a life. Thanks to a header as beautiful as it was unexpected, the Benfica Lisbon goalkeeper scored the Portuguese qualification goal, against Real Madrid (4-2), during the final day of the group stage of the Champions League. His achievement thus allowed the Lisbon team to pass Olympique de Marseille on goal difference and secure a place in the play-offs.
However, this moment of total euphoria could never have happened. Indeed, Benfica coach José Mourinho thought that his team, which was then leading 3-2, was already qualified for the rest of the competition, thanks to this victory. He didn’t know that a fourth goal was essential to get back into the top 24 in the standings.
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Mourinho did everything… to waste time
Until the 97th minute of play, Benfica Lisbon, despite its score advantage against Real Madrid, was well and truly eliminated from the most prestigious European competition. Quite the opposite of what José Mourinho thought, who was in charge of his 158th Champions League match as a coach.
Satisfied with this victory, he began to ask his players to calm things down, not to plan too much and to waste as much time as possible. Tactic in which he himself participated, with changes in the last moments to break the rhythm. “The situation, which is ridiculous and painful, is the moment when I make the substitutions of António and Ivanovic to close the match, because the information we had was that the victory was enough”explained the 63-year-old tactician at a press conference.
Just after his changes, he then obtains the crucial information: victory is not enough, you have to score to progress to the play-offs. “I heard there was a goal somewhere and it wasn’t enough anymore. Even the players didn’t understand that the coach made substitutions to close the match, then that we finally had to score one more goal.he says, without smiling.
A “fantastic evening” for Mourinho
So there are barely two minutes left, with extra time to extend. José Mourinho completely changes his instructions, since it is absolutely necessary to score. But he cannot bring in an attacker to help his players: all his changes have taken place. “The players themselves, Anatoliï Troubine himself, didn’t really understand what was happening. And then the big man scored a fantastic goal.he said, visibly a little more moved. “For Benfica it’s a fantastic evening, whatever happens next”he concluded.
Just before talking about the club, the Portuguese spoke about how he experienced this goal. “I have won and lost knockout matches in the last minute before, but never with a goalkeeper scoring a fantastic goal that even the best strikers in the world would dream of scoring. The emotion is therefore truly immense. And even for someone like me, who has known everything, who thought he had known everything, and it turns out that he didn’t.testifies the Portuguese.
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A match with strong emotions for the former coach of Real Madrid, his evening opponents. He couldn’t help but be impressed by some of the players in the Spanish capital in the first half, notably the goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois. After an exceptional save from the Belgian following a strike from Gianluca Prestianni, the Portuguese tactician could not keep a smile from his face, with a sincerely admiring look towards the Madrid goalkeeper. A «p*****» even came out of his mouth to express his feelings about this splendid stop. A word that he must have probably repeated a lot during a crazy evening.
