He didn’t save a penalty or pull off any outstanding save but Champions League debutant shot-stopper Ivan Provedel (in yellow) emerged as Lazio’s unlikely saviour in their match against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Trailing to Pablo Barrios’ 29th minute goal, Lazio were staring at a disappointing loss at the Stadio Olimpico in their Group E opener. However, with 94.19 minutes on the clock, goalkeeper Provedel (who wears the No. 94 jersey, is 1.94 metres tall and was born in 1994), after venturing up for a last-ditch corner, leapt into the Rome night sky to head home a cross from Luis Alberto. Provedel’s gamble — it was to be one of the final touches of the game — helped Lazio salvage a 1-1 draw.

With that Provedel also gained entry into one of football’s most exclusive clubs by becoming only the fourth goalkeeper to score in the Champions League, and only the second to score a non-penalty goal in the competition.

Provedel became the first goalkeeper to score in a Champions League match since Nigeria’s Vincent Enyeama achieved the feat for Hapoel Tel Aviv 13 years ago, and only the fourth overall.

“It’s a night I’ll remember all my life,” Provedel told uefa.com. “I’m happy especially because we managed to level a game we didn’t deserve to lose. It hasn’t sunk in; later, I will realise that I scored in the Champions League.”

Inputs from Reuters