UEFA Champions League: Lazio’s Provedel Joins Enyeama and Other Goalkeepers to Score

• Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel scored an equaliser in the UCL tie against Atletico Madrid
• He powered past Jan Oblak off Luis Alberto's cross to win a point for Maurizio Sarri's side
• He joins an elite list of goalkeepers to score in the competition including Vincent Enyeama

The UEFA Champions League returned for the 2023/24 season yesterday and it immediately 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 Royal Antwerp 5-0 but the night's showpiece was Lazio goalkeeper, Ivan Provedel scoring a last-minute equaliser against Atletico Madrid.

Sports Brief looks at the goalkeepers who have scored a goal in UEFA Champions League history.

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.

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ESPN noted that it was the second time a goalkeeper had scored 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

The legendary Nigerian goalkeeper is the third UCL goalkeeper to score and the 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. His score helped the Belgian club secure a third-place finish and drop into the Europa League.

4. Hans-Jorg Buttt

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 with three different clubs - Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen, and Bayern Munich.

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Top 5 African Premier League keepers

Sports Brief also analysed the Premier League's top five African goalkeepers after Cameroon's Andre Onana joined Manchester United from Inter Milan this season.

Zimbabwe's Bruce Grobbelaar is rated highly for his impressive contribution to Liverpool's European Cup victory in 1984, while Senegal's Edouard Mendy is listed.