Benfica goalkeeper scores in last minute to keep Champions League dream alive and send Jose Mourinho wild

Jan 28, 2026 - 23:30

Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a spectacular last-gasp header to keep his side’s Champions League dream alive against Real Madrid.

Heading into the last seconds of their final league phase match, the Portuguese giants were 3-2 up and in need of another goal to qualify for the competition’s knockout stage play-offs.

The goalkeeper was mobbed by his teammates after keeping spectacularly Benfica’s hopes alive[/caption]

And Benfica‘s hero came in the most unlikely form, as their goalkeeper Trubin charged forward for a last gasp free kick.

The Ukrainian climbed highest to put his side 4-2 up, sparking pandemonium for Jose Mourinho‘s side, whose bench spilled onto the pitch to celebrate with their stopper.

With closest rivals Marseille suffering a 3-0 defeat, this saw Benfica leapfrog them into 24th-place in the league phase table, the cut-off point for the round of 16 play-offs.

It also proved a damaging defeat for Real Madrid, who fell out of the top eight to miss out on automatic qualification for the round of 16.

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Ronaldo record shattered in crazy clash

While Trubin will rightfully stole the headlines for his heroics, this thrilling clash also saw Kylian Mbappe break one of Cristiano’s Champions League goalscoring records.

Mbappe gave Real the lead as he headed home from Raul Asencio’s cross to notch his 12th goal of the competition’s opening round.

In doing so, he wrote his name into the history books, by breaking Ronaldo‘s record for the most goals in the group stage/league phase.

Heading into Wednesday night’s clash, Mbappe had been tied with the Portuguese icon, who scored a staggering 11 goals in the same stage in the 2015/16 season.

Mbappe later put daylight between himself and Ronaldo, as he took his tally to 13 by pulling a goal back for Real after falling 3-1 down.

And though the 27-year-old will be delighted to surpass his childhood hero, there is a catch to his latest achievement.

Kylian Mbappe created another piece of personal history against Benfica[/caption]

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 11-goal group stage haul in 2015/16 had been a competition record for 10 years[/caption]

While Mbappe has now scored more goals than any other player in Champions League opening stage history, changes in format mean he had the luxury of one extra game to break Ronaldo’s record.

Before the 2024/25 campaign, all teams in Europe’s elite competition began by playing in the six-game group stage.

This means that when Ronaldo set his goalscoring record, he played in just six matches, scoring in four of them.

However, last season the Champions League’s old format was scrapped, and replaced with an eight-game league phase.

As a result, Mbappe has been offered an additional two games to rack up his goals, although he has only featured in seven of Real Madrid’s European games this term.

The forward was an unused substitute in his side’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in December, but has started all other matches.

Mbappe’s two goals weren’t enough to secure Real Madrid automatic qualification for the knockout phase[/caption]

And he has made his advantage count, finding the net against Marseille, Karait, Olympiacos and Monaco, as well as Benfica.

This includes two hat-trick displays, with Mbappe hitting a treble against Karait, and a four-goal haul at Olympiacos.

His exploits against Benfica also saw him enjoy personal history, with the France star scoring in his third straight Champions League game, his best goalscoring streak since a run of 6 games from 24th November 2021 to 14th September 2022.

Why didn’t Real Madrid finish in the top eight?

While Mbappe enjoyed an historic evening on a personal level, it proved a damaging night for Real Madrid collectively.

Needing a win to guarantee a top eight finish and automatic qualification for the round of 16, Los Blancos found themselves 2-1 down at half-time after Andreas Schjelderup and Vaneglis Pavlidis hit back for Benfica.

And things soon got even worse for Alvaro Arbeloa’s side, as Schjelderup scored again to make it 3-1 on 54 minutes.

Jude Bellingham, Mbappe and Co will have to compete in the play-offs to advance into the Champions League round of 16[/caption]

Mbappe then gave Real a lifeline, as he slotted home from Arda Guler’s cutback, before Trubin grabbed the headlines with his dramatic late header.

Despite sitting third in the league phase standings at the start of the night, Real ultimately fell to a ninth-place finish.

Manchester City, Chelsea, Barcelona, Tottenham, Liverpool and Sporting Lisbon all won to leapfrog the 15-time European champions, and condemn them to the play-offs in February.