Lazio goalkeeper scores in injury time in Champions League

Italy's Ivan Provedel headed in to equalize 1-1 in the fifth minute of injury time in their opening match against Atletico in Group E of the Champions League.

In the final minutes at the Olimpico stadium, home team Lazio was awarded a corner kick after goalkeeper Jan Oblak blocked Danilo Cataldi's long-range shot.

When the away team's defense thought a Lazio player handled the ball and stopped to demand a penalty, Luis Alberto crossed into the penalty area for Provedel to head the ball into the Atletico net, making the score 1-1.

Provodel (yellow shirt) headed past his colleague Oblak to help Lazio escape defeat against Atletico Madrid at home at the Olimpico Stadium on September 19. Photo: SS Lazio — Provodel (yellow shirt) headed past his colleague Oblak to help Lazio escape defeat against Atletico Madrid at home at the Olimpico Stadium on September 19. Photo: *SS Lazio*

After the match, Provedel joked that he had learned how to move and head from teammate Ciro Immobile. The Italy goalkeeper admitted he did not know whether the Lazio coaching staff would allow him to join the attack because of the noise on the pitch, but decided to go forward with only 30 seconds left. "I don't think I understood what happened," Provedel added. "Football moves very quickly, both good and bad. Today we didn't win, we just got a point."

This is not the first time Provedel has scored, having scored to seal a 2-2 draw between Juve Stabia and Ascoli in Serie B in February 2020. "These are two different situations, two very important goals, two very important seasons for me, and both have great significance," the 29-year-old goalkeeper said.

Goalkeeper Provodel scored the equalizer for Lazio in the 95th minute — Goalkeeper Provodel equalized for Lazio in the 95th minute.

Provedel's goal immediately went viral on social media. Fabio Capello, the Italian coach who has coached AS Roma, Real Madrid and England, compared the Lazio goalkeeper to Haaland. "He not only made a great save, but also equalized in the last seconds," Capello commented. "Provedel is like Erling Haaland with that flying header."

Before Provedel, the only goalkeepers to have scored in the Champions League were Vincent Enyeama in September 2010 and Sinan Bolat in December 2009. Another Italian goalkeeper to have scored in UEFA competition was Marco Amelia in Partizan Belgrade's 1-1 draw with Livorno in the 2006-07 UEFA Cup.

Before the dramatic finale with Provodel's goal, Lazio were somewhat dominant. They had more shots: 18, from six directions, but it was Provodel's 19th, a header, that found its way into Atletico's goal. In contrast, the visitors only had nine shots, from four directions. One of those resulted in the opening goal in the 29th minute when Pablo Barrios's shot from outside the box deflected off Matias Vecino and left Provedel rooted to the spot.

The loss extended Lazio's run of conceding goals in the Champions League to 20 games, since a 2-0 win over Besiktas in 2003. This is the longest run of an Italian club without a clean sheet in the competition, surpassing Roma's 19 games.

Hong Duy

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