The UEFA Champions League returned for the 2023/24 season yesterday, and it reminded us why it is club football's biggest competition with lots of goals, dramas and history.
Defending champions Manchester City survived an early scare with a 3-1 comeback win. Spanish champions FC Barcelona routed Antwerp 5-0, but the night's show was Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel scoring a last-minute equaliser against Atletico Madrid.
Let's look at the goalkeepers who have scored a goal in the competition.
1. Ivan Provedel
The man of the moment, Provedel, came clutch for Lazio after moving forward for a corner kick in the 94th minute. The initial effort was cleared before Luis Alberto sent in another cross, and the goalie met it with a powerful header.
ESPN noted that it was the second time a goalkeeper would score a non-penalty goal in the competition. It was not the first time Provedel had a goal; he scored in Serie B in 2020, as reported by IFTV.
2. Vincent Enyeama
Legendary Nigerian goalkeeper was the third and only African shot-stopper to have a goal. He scored a penalty for Hapoel Tel Aviv against Olympique Lyon in 2010, having also scored in the qualifiers against RB Leipzig.
3. Sinan Bolat
The Turkish goalkeeper was the first to score an open-play goal after scoring a 95th-minute header for Standard Liege against AZ Alkmaar in 2009 to help the Belgian club secure a third-place finish and drop into the Europa League.
4. Hans-Jorg B*tt
The German goalkeeper scored three goals in the competition, all coming from the spot. According to Football on TNT, all three goals came against one opponent, Juventus, but for three different clubs - Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.
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