Jose Mourinho says he told Dean Huijsen he was ‘lucky’ Real Madrid didn’t lose by more after Benfica sealed an incredible 4-2 victory to advance through to the Champions League play-offs.
Benfica had looked on the right track to miss out on goals scored, despite holding a 3-2 advantage over Madrid within the dying embers of Wednesday’s unforgettable league phase contest.
Nevertheless, Benfica’s goalkeeper, Anatoliy Trubin, was sent up upfield for a well-positioned free-kick deep into stoppage time, with the hosts requiring only one goal after Madrid had seen each Raul Asencio and Rodrygo sent off.
In amongst a crowd of bodies, Trubin timed his run to perfection and rose the best to beat Thibaut Courtois with an emphatic header, sparking fervent celebrations on the Estadio da Luz.
Mourinho’s men held firm within the last remaining seconds of the sport to carry onto twenty fourth place within the table, which was enough to secure the club an unseeded spot ahead of next month’s two-legged play-offs.
Madrid, meanwhile, just missed out on automatic qualification with a ninth-place finish, meaning they, too, must progress via the play-offs albeit as certainly one of the seeded teams.
‘We knew that he could do it, we knew that he could do it,’ Mourinho, who, in fact managed Madrid from 2010 to 2013, told TNT Sports of Trubin’s stunning 98th-minute header.
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‘We were losing in Porto a few weeks ago, he went up there within the last minute and almost scored so we all know that the massive guy is able to this.
‘The standard of the service, in fact, is a very powerful thing, you could have to place the ball there.
‘Nevertheless it’s an incredible goal for the guy.’
Asked at what moment did he discover that Benfica required just yet another goal to book themselves a play-off spot, Mourinho explained: ‘After I made the changes, the last changes, [Franjo] Ivanovic and Antonio Silva, I used to be told that it was enough so let’s close the door.
‘After I made the changes a couple of seconds later they tell me, “We want yet another goal”, but I cannot make more changes.
‘In order that was the lucky point, to get the free-kick to permit us to go there with the massive guy.’
Once the dust had settled, Mourinho was seen speaking within the tunnel with Madrid central defender Huijsen, who he previously managed at Roma.
In accordance with TNT Sports reporter Archie Rhind-Tutt, The Special One was overheard muttering, “F***inghell”, to the defender, in some ways summing up the rollercoaster contest to perfection.
‘Dean was my player at Roma, he’s friends with my kids and the families know one another well so I actually have relationship with him,’ Mourinho said of his reunion with Huijsen.
‘We were just speaking in regards to the game and, in fact, the child is upset.
‘But I used to be telling him, “You were lucky! You were lucky to lose only 4-2”, since it could possibly be more.’
Benfica’s unlikely hero, Trubin, was almost lost for words when attempting to describe his emotions within the aftermath of Benfica’s famous victory.
‘I don’t know. I scored a goal!’ he laughed.
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‘For me, it’s unbelievable, something I actually have never had before so I don’t know the way to react.
‘Once we received the free-kick, after that I understand because everyone, the bench, the players on the pitch, shouted to me, point at me, saying, “Go! Go! Go!”, and I asked after I come there whether we want yet another goal.
‘Thank God I did it. We did it.’
The Ukraine international added: ‘Possibly I still cannot understand in any respect [the feelings] but unbelievable… I don’t know what more to say since it’s crazy.
‘It’s such a crucial goal for us, for the fans, for Benfica.
‘We go to the play-offs so it’s unbelievable.’
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