Oh. My. Word.
There are many instances in football that take the breath away and leave you absolutely stunned. An athletic overhead kick; a dizzying dribble; a finger-tip save; a thunderbolt of a shot. But rarely does a goal line clearance from a covering defender get you on your feet and applauding wildly. Well, prepare to vacate your seat.
Montenegrin Stefan Savić may be better known for being something of a flop during his time at Manchester City, but the central defender has been a revelation for Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid this season. So much so that he has been keeping £40m-rated José Giménez out of the team with his commanding displays.
But on Saturday afternoon he produced something truly outstanding. With 30 minutes on the clock during the Madrid derby, Cristiano Ronaldo steadied himself to the right of the Atleti penalty area and dispatched a bullet of a shot past the advancing Jan Oblak. It was a certain goal and surely the game’s opener.
But somehow, and we’re still not sure how he managed it, Savic managed to sprint to the goal line just in time and get in the way of the goalbound effort. It pinged off his desperate lunge and soared into the Madrid sky. It was Superman stuff from the 26-year-old stopper and left poor Cristiano wondering what the fuck just happened.
https://twitter.com/SeanWaIker/status/850724803547992064
You won't see many better blocks than this! Superman Savic. #LaLiga #MadridDerby pic.twitter.com/KgwMAPhgEe
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) April 8, 2017