Sevilla No1 Palop recalls Shakhtar header

Sevilla were 2-1 down and heading out of the 2006/07 UEFA Cup at the round of 16 stage when keeper Andrés Palop came up for an added-time corner. He talks UEFA.com through the goal he scored at Shakhtar Donetsk, as his side went on to win 3-2 on the night and, ultimately, retain the trophy.

"In football you have to fight and battle until the very last second because things can still be decided then. So after we had only achieved a 2-2 draw at home in the first leg, which wasn't a good result, we needed to travel to Ukraine and play a team and a place where it was still winter and the conditions weren't the best. It looked like they would qualify as they were leading 2-1 until the last seconds of that tie. We had nothing to lose, so I decided to go up front.

Former Sevilla No1 Andrés Palop©UEFA.com

"I thought: 'Let's go up front and create confusion, block an opponent or deflect the ball in a way that a team-mate could nick it in, but please make sure it doesn't go wrong and the opponents end up scoring a third.' But I never thought about scoring a goal.

"When that corner kick was taken everybody was waiting for it – and then I saw it coming to me and I knew that it was my ball and that I could head it without being challenged by an opposing player. I tried to make sure the ball would go in and, with that, take the game into extra time. The ball came towards me and I headed it in. And it was one of the most incredible feelings I ever had. Now I know what a team-mate feels when he scores a goal."