By SCM Correspondent in Lisbon
JOSE MOURINHO enjoyed the ultimate “Special One” moment last night as he watched his Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin score a 98th-minute header to sink Real Madrid and spark absolute bedlam in Lisbon.
In a night of pure Champions League theatre, the Portuguese giants didn’t just beat the kings of Europe—they humiliated them. While Kylian Mbappe did his best to save face with a clinical brace, Los Blancos collapsed under the lights, finishing with nine men and falling into the dreaded playoff spots.
It was a game that had everything: six goals, two red cards, and a goalkeeper scoring the winner with the final touch of the match.
Real Madrid arrived at the Estadio da Luz needing only a point to secure a direct path to the Round of 16. For a while, it looked like business as usual. Kylian Mbappe silenced the home crowd in the 30th minute, nodding home a cross from Raul Asencio.
But Mourinho’s “Eagles” don’t do quiet.
Norwegian starlet Andreas Schjelderup—the best player on the pitch—levelled the scores just six minutes later after Asencio slipped in the mud. By half-time, the Luz was shaking.
Vangelis Pavlidis coolly slotted a penalty past Thibaut Courtois after Aurelien Tchouameni lost his head and hauled down Nicolas Otamendi.
The Schjelderup Show continued after the break when the 21-year-old hammered home his second to make it 3-1. Mbappe, refusing to be outshone, dragged Madrid back into it with a thumping strike from an Arda Guler cutback, but the wheels were already coming off the Madrid machine.
LATE LISBON MADNESS
As the clock ticked into injury time, Real’s discipline evaporated. Raul Asencio saw red for a desperate lunge, and he was quickly followed down the tunnel by Rodrygo, leaving the visitors to defend with just nine men.
Then came the moment that will be replayed for decades.
With Benfica needing one more goal to leapfrog Marseille into the playoffs, goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin sprinted the length of the pitch for a final free-kick.
Fredrik Aursnes swung it in, and there was the 6ft 7in Ukrainian, rising like a salmon to power a header past a stunned Courtois.
The stadium erupted, Mourinho went on a trademark touchline sprint, and Real Madrid were left wondering how they’d managed to finish ninth in the table.
BENFICA (4-2-3-1): Trubin 10; Bah 7, Otamendi 8, Silva 7, Carreras 7; Florentino 7, Aursnes 8; Schjelderup 9, Kokcu 7, Di Maria 7; Pavlidis 8.
REAL MADRID (4-3-3): Courtois 6; Vazquez 5, Asencio 3, Rudiger 6, Mendy 5; Valverde 6, Tchouameni 4, Bellingham 6; Guler 7, Mbappe 8, Vinicius Jr 6.
