Lille goalkeeper Berke Ozer saved three straight penalties in the final minutes of their Europa League victory over Roma.
The French took the lead in the sixth minute when Hakon Arnar Haraldsson scored off an error.
However, hosts Roma were given the perfect opportunity to equalize and gain a draw when Aissa Mandi was given a penalty in the 80th minute for handball.
Substitute Artem Dovbyk came up to take the penalty kick, but his attempt was saved, prompting referee Erik Lambrechts to order a retake after Ozer was ruled to have moved off his line.
Dovbyk moved up again, only to be denied by the opposing goalkeeper, but this time the Turkey international was deemed to have stepped forward too soon.
Matias Soule was then given the responsibility for the third effort, but he, too, was denied by Ozer, and this time the save was crucial to Lille’s victory.
Gian Piero Gasperini, Roma’s manager, commented afterwards, “I’ve never seen three missed penalties in one match. It was a nearly unique, unpredictable circumstance that ultimately jeopardized the outcome.”
