Anatoliy Troubine faces Real Madrid again after last-gasp header and Courtois comparisons | OneFootball

Anatoliy Troubine and Benfica meet Real Madrid again on Tuesday at 21:00 in the Champions League play-offs first leg, three weeks after the Ukrainian keeper’s last-second header transformed his status. The Estádio da Luz stages the reunion.

Fredrik Aursnes’s late free-kick found Troubine’s head in stoppage time of Benfica’s 4-2 win over Madrid. According to L'Équipe, the club have even printed ‘Eu estava la’ T-shirts to mark the moment.

That goal swelled the margin at the death in the league-phase finale and reframed a campaign with Benfica adrift domestically and already out of both cups.

At the same venue and against the same opponent, José Mourinho’s side now start their play-off bid. Troubine was praised by his Madrid counterpart and likened to a gentle giant, a nod to José Torres.

At 24 he is again cast among a new generation of keepers. Antonio Ferreira, who first promoted him at Shakhtar Donetsk and now works at Lyon, says he resembles Thibaut Courtois, citing his height, build, traits and assured work with his feet.

He rose quickly at Shakhtar, stepping up behind Andriy Pyatov, then starting under Luis Castro and becoming their youngest captain at 18 years and 349 days.

His breakthrough came on 21 October 2020 with a 3-2 Champions League win at Madrid. He joined Benfica in 2023, and after that January header he posted on Instagram, dedicating it to Ukraine and to those who fight until the end.

Source: L'Équipe