The referee's watch had reached 98 minutes and Jose Mourinho's Benfica were staring down the barrel of a Uefa Champions League exit.
Despite leading 15-time European champions Real Madrid 3-2 at Estadio da Luz, the Portuguese side were set to miss out on a play-off spot by the narrowest of margins.
It had been panic stations on the Benfica bench when it became clear that they were one goal shy and heading out of the tournament on goal difference. In desperation, goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin was encouraged to join the attack.
“I was just playing, enjoying the game, and enjoying the moment,” the Ukrainian told Uefa.com. “Towards the end, I was slightly trying to run down the time, because a win is a win.
“But then … I saw [Mourinho] signalling for me to go forward, and that was the moment I understood that we needed one more goal to go through.”
It was one last throw of the dice by Mourinho up against his former club – but drama is never in short supply when 'The Special One' is involved.
Sure enough, a free-kick was pumped into the penalty area and Trubin was on hand to nod past his Real counterpart Thibaut Courtois and set up a play-off clash with, remarkably, Real Madrid once again.
“I don't know, I don't know what to say. A crazy moment,” said a shell-shocked Trubin after the match. “I am not used to scoring, so for me it was something completely new. I am 24 years old and for me it's the first time.”
For Mourinho, 63, it was an unforgettable moment as he defeated Los Blancos for the first time in his glittering coaching career. “Over the years, I've experienced pretty much everything – the good and the bad; I’ve been through it all,” Mourinho told Uefa.com.
“I had already experienced winning a knockout game with the very last kick of the game, in the 90th minute, but for it to be a goalkeeper who scored – and what a goal – that really made me lose my mind.”
Mourinho's return to Portuguese football after 21 years away has not exactly gone to plan. They remain undefeated in 22 matches in the Primeira Liga but seven draws mean they sit third in the table, seven points behind another of his former clubs and league leaders Porto.
Any hopes of a domestic cup run were ended in the quarter-finals when they lost 1-0 to Porto, the club Mourinho famously led to Champions League glory back in 2003.
His hopes of continuing in the Champions League this season are still alive but they face a “very demanding” battle to reach the last-16.
“They are wounded. And a wounded king is dangerous,” said Mourinho on Monday, who admitted himself to hospital with an ear infection before last weekend's 2-1 win at Santa Clara.
“We will play the first leg with our heads, ambition and confidence. We know what we did to the kings of the Champions League.
“My players started with four games and zero points. They had to get nine points playing against Juventus, Real Madrid and Napoli. They really deserve to be here.
“And it's much better to be here, in the Champions League qualifiers, against a team of Real Madrid's stature than against a lower-level team. Let's enjoy tomorrow's game, get a result that allows us to compete in the second leg and play with joy.”
The Benfica defeat would prove particularly frustrating for Real, who would have finished in the top eight and qualified automatically for the last-16 if they had come away with even a draw.
Alvaro Arbeloa's team finished the league phase in ninth place, one point behind Manchester City, Portuguese rivals Sporting and another of Mourinho's former clubs Chelsea, despite a superior goal difference over all three.
Top scorer Kylian Mbappe did not hold back following the capitulation in Portugal. “It isn't about quality, and it isn't about tactics,” said the French striker, who has scored 31 goals across competitions this season.
“It's about having more desire than your opponent. You could see that everything was on the line for Benfica, and you couldn't see that for us, and that's a problem.”
The reaction to that defeat – three La Liga wins on the spin – will come as a relief to Mbappe and manager Arbeloa, who took over from the sacked Xabi Alonso last month.
Arbeloa endured a nightmare start to his reign, falling to a shock Copa del Rey exit to second division Albacete, but has seen his team win five out of five in the league.
Barcelona's 2-1 defeat away to Girona on Monday means Real lead La Liga by two points. Mbappe missed the 4-1 home thrashing of Real Sociedad on Saturday, a game where Vinicius Junior scored twice. The Brazilian's relationship with Real fans has become strained, to say the least, due to a knee problem.
But Mbappe was named in the squad for Tuesday's return to Estadio da Luz, unlike the injured Jude Bellingham and suspended Rodrygo, who will miss both legs against Benfica. The home clash takes place at Santiago Bernabeu on February 25.
