- Ivan Provedel equalized with a last touch on his Champions League debut
- The goalkeeper’s face was painted with emotion after this historic moment
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Ivan Provedel became only the fourth goalkeeper to score in the Champions League proper with a 95th-minute equalizer for Lazio against Atletico Madrid.
The 29-year-old saved a point for the hosts with the final touch of the match when he nodded Luis Alberto’s cross – on his Champions League debut, no less.
Blue smoke rose from a flare thrown onto the pitch as the Stadio Olimpico roared in ecstasy to celebrate the incredible moment.
Last minute goalkeeper goals are part of football folklore. Think of Jimmy Glass’s strike to keep Carlisle United in the football league in 1999.
Since 2009, when Vincent Enyeama scored a penalty for Hapoel Tel Aviv against Lyon, no goalkeeper has scored in Europe’s premier competition.
Ivan Provedel headed an equalizer in the 95th minute on his Champions League debut to salvage a point for Lazio against Atletico Madrid.
The goalkeeper ran away in triumph as the Stadio Olimpico erupted in exultation.
And it was a well-deserved point for Lazio, who managed 19 shots to Atletico Madrid’s nine and had come close on several occasions in the heated Champions League affair.
Pablo Barrios, a tender 20-year-old, had given Diego Simeone’s traveling squad a 1-0 lead in the first half on his first start in the competition.
In typical fashion, they looked to have secured victory until Provedel charged across the box and hit Alberto’s cross.
Simeone’s hands gestured in the hope that his team would have time to recover, Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak shook his head and the players knelt in disbelief.
The 29-year-old looked emotional as the importance of what he had done sunk in
He marked the rare moment with a photo as he became the fourth goalkeeper to score in Champions League history.
Lazio fans went wild as flares were thrown onto the pitch and flags were waved in the stands.
The unlikely hero, Provedel, hugged his teammates and his face was painted with a mixture of bewilderment, tears and defiance.
It hasn’t been an easy time for Lazio, who sit 15th in Serie A with one win and three defeats.
But it will remain in the history of the club.
Only Enyeama, Bolat and Hans-Jorg Butt scored as goalkeepers before him – Butt on three notable occasions, all against Juventus, as he was a regular penalty taker.