Lazio’s unlikely goalscorer Ivan Provedel: “I’ve still not come to terms with it!”

Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel has stated that the feeling of having scored a goal in the Champions League hasn’t settled in yet for him.

With Lazio trailing 1-0 and having failed to score despite having a raft of chances, they earned a corner in the 95th minute. While the initial delivery was cleared, Luis Alberto found Provedel making a great run inside the box to put the ball past a helpless Jan Oblak.

Provedel has now become only the second goalkeeper in Champions League history to score from a non-penalty situation and after his goal, he spoke to Mediaset (via TMW) and revealed that the emotion hasn’t settled in yet for him.

The Italian said: “It’s a great feeling and I’ve still not come to terms with it. The most difficult thing it was dodging the slaps at the end, luckily Luis Alberto kicked it there. How does it feel to score? A mess! I feel more when I make a save, I’m not used to it. But I’ll realize it, I’m happy for the point and I’m sorry that the goal came in the last minute, we deserved it sooner. Now let’s think about the league, where we scored too few points.”

Provedel wasn’t always guaranteed to be Lazio’s first-choice goalkeeper during the summer transfer window as the club were linked with a move for Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris. But at the end, the Frenchman’s move fell through and Provedel remained as the starting goalkeeper of Maurizio Sarri’s side.

Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN