The tall, gangly Cristiano Piccini is one of Valencia's unlikely heroes. The Italian right-back popped up in the box in the dying seconds of Valencia's last game of 2018 for a crucial cameo. Valencia was hosting Huesca at the Mestalla Stadium. Valencia's season was in disarray—they were lying 14th in the table, four points from the drop zone.
Things were about to get worse. Only the crossbar saved Valencia from going 2-1 down to bottom-placed Huesca following a late free kick by Huesca's David Ferreiro. With the ref about to blow full-time, Piccini stormed into the box in the last play of the game—with 94 minutes on the clock—and crashed home a left-footed shot first-time into the net.