This unlikely scenario played out Wednesday night in South America during a game between Argentine titan River Plate and Independiente Santa Fe of Colombia in the Copa Libertadores, the continent’s version of the Champions League. Down 20 players because of a coronavirus outbreak, among them all four goalkeepers, River Plate was forced to use 35-year-old midfielder Enzo Pérez in goal and played the entire game without any substitutes.
Pérez was chosen as River Plate’s backstop only because he had a muscle injury and would have been ineffective as an attacking player. Nonetheless, he stopped four shots and let only one goal through with his team already up 2-0 in the second half.