Lazio goalkeeper scores in injury time in the Champions League
In the last minutes at Olimpico Stadium, host Lazio received a corner kick after goalkeeper Jan Oblak pushed away Danilo Cataldi's long-range shot.
When the away team's defense thought a Lazio player had touched the ball with his hand and stood still demanding a penalty kick, Luis Alberto crossed into the penalty area so Provedel could cut in and head the ball into Atletico's net, setting the score 1-1.
After the match, Provedel joked that he learned how to move and head from teammate Ciro Immobile. The Italian goalkeeper admitted that he did not know whether the Lazio coaching staff would allow him to participate in the attack or not because of the noise on the field, but still decided to push forward because there were only 30 seconds left. "I don't think I understand what happened," Provedel added. "Football happens very fast, in both good and bad ways. Today, we didn't win, but only got one point."
This is not the first time Provedel has scored, as he tore the opponent's net to set 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 mean a lot," the 29-year-old goalkeeper expressed.
Provedel's goal immediately caused a stir on social networks. Fabio Capello, the Italian coach who led 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 no different from Erling Haaland with that flying header."
Before Provedel, the goalkeepers who scored goals in the Champions League were Vincent Enyeama in September 2010 and Sinan Bolat in December 2009. Another Italian goalkeeper who scored in a UEFA tournament was Marco Amelia in Partizan Belgrade's 1-1 draw with Livorno in the UEFA Cup in the 2006-2007 season.
Before the dramatic ending with Provodel's deciding goal, Lazio was somewhat dominant. They finished more: 18 times, in six directions, but had to wait until the 19th time with Provodel's header to find its way into Atletico's goal. On the contrary, the away team only scored nine times, with four goal directions. One of them brought the opening goal from the 29th minute when Pablo Barrios shot from outside the penalty area, hitting Matias Vecino's foot and changing direction, leaving Provedel rooted to the spot.
The loss caused Lazio to extend their streak of conceding goals in the Champions League to 20 matches, since the 2-0 win over Besiktas in 2003. This is the longest streak of matches without keeping a clean sheet for an Italian club in the tournament, surpassing the 19 matches of Rome.
