What appeared to have been a miss-hit cross to Robin van Persie sailed, in the most spectacular fashion, into the top right hand corner of the net, from at least 30 yards out.
Even Cleverley had a marked look of surprise on his face. The young man bags himself 5th place on our run down of the greatest most talked about goals in Premier League history.
Our also-ran in the list is Arsenal’s Thierry Henry – He gets a special mention for his goal against Manchester United, which completely dumbfounded France teammate Fabien Barthez. The former Gunner, with his back to goal, chipped the ball off the ground then struck it on the volley over his shoulder without even looking at the net. Barthez could only watch as it looped through the air in to the back of his goal.
But the goal in question here is his Henry’s recent corner kick for the New York Red Bulls. Did he really mean to score directly from a corner kick? As one of the greatest strikers of all time, I wouldn’t have put it past him.
Next up is Manchester United Javier Hernandez’s header against Stoke City in 2010. Probably the most astonishing thing about it was his ability to win a header at all amidst the towering Stoke defence.
Then, in an act of complete inspiration, he improvised, using the back of his head instead of his forehead, to flick the ball high into the corner of the net. I still can’t work out how he managed to jump that high in the first place. Maybe I should try scratching the back of my head, instead of the front.
No doubt he meant to score it, but just how did he do it?
In at two, our nearly-man is Papiss Cisse whose wonder-strike last season against Chelsea will go probably down in Newcastle’s history books for being the most audacious goal ever scored for the club.
Undoubtedly the best goal of last season, Cisse used the outside of his boot to beat Petr Cech from almost 30 yards out. I suspect he meant it, but I doubt he ever really thought it would go in. Sensational.
And finally, the most wondrous goal in Premier League history belongs to Arsenal’s Dennis Bergkamp – it features in practically all polls of the greatest goals of all time, simply because it was just too good to be true.
The unfortunate Nikos Dabizas is probably still rewinding the tapes trying to figure out how he did it. The Dutchman flicked the ball on the volley, spun around the defender and met it to guide it gently into the net. Magical.
image: © eschipul
Jenny Leigh
@backpagenewsmore stories from Jenny Leigh
Jennifer is a freelance writer and filmmaker from London with a great passion for football - the game, the business, and the culture. Jennifer hopes to provide readership with a high standard of news, analysis, and opinion over a range of football events, stories, and issues.
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