Own goals are a defender's nightmare, but some are so spectacularly bizarre they become etched in football history. Porto's young defender Martim Fernandes added his name to that infamous list during Thursday's Europa League quarter-final against Nottingham Forest. In a moment of pure misfortune, his attempted 45-yard backpass sailed over his own goalkeeper, Diogo Costa, leveling the match at 1-1. The agony was compounded minutes later when Fernandes suffered an injury and had to be substituted.

While Fernandes's gaffe was undoubtedly shocking, the pantheon of catastrophic own goals is fiercely competitive. It calls to mind other legendary defensive blunders that have left fans and players alike in stunned disbelief.

Consider the classic miscommunication between Arsenal stalwarts Lee Dixon and David Seaman in 1991. Part of a famously resolute Gunners backline, Dixon's long-range back pass at Highbury famously looped over a stranded Seaman, proving that even the most formidable defenses have moments of sheer calamity.

Then there's the tragicomic header from Manchester City's Jamie Pollock in 1998. With City fighting relegation, Pollock executed an astonishingly skillful—yet utterly misplaced—flick and header over his own keeper against QPR. The act was so audacious it drew comparisons to Gazza's famous Euro '96 goal, but for all the wrong reasons. City drew that match and were ultimately relegated by a single point, making Pollock's moment one of costly, surreal infamy.

From France, Franck Queudrue's effort for Lens in 2001 stands as a strong contender for the most technically baffling own goal. Before his long career in England, the left-back produced a moment of spectacularly misjudged skill that remains a staple of blooper reels, reminding us that defensive focus is as crucial as any flashy attack.

So, is Fernandes's own goal the worst of all time? It's a strong entry into a hall of fame no player wants to join. These moments, while painful, are a stark reminder of the fine margins and intense pressure in professional football, where a single split-second decision can echo for decades. For defenders everywhere, it's a lesson in concentration—and perhaps a reason to keep training those backpasses.