5. Andrea Pirlo vs Torino
The living legend graces us with this pearl of a first time strike from outside the box. It was laid on a plate for him, and he ate the chance up. The defense will be shaking their head, as they should have closed that down before he got the shot off. Still, the shot had enough power and accuracy to beat the keeper from far out.
4. Victor Vazquez vs Anderlecht
I watched and rewatched this goal a couple of times now. I wanted to be sure whether it was bad goalkeeping or great placement. In the end, I’m fairly certain it is the latter of the two. Anderlecht’s keeper is pretty much exactly where a keeper should be in a free kick like that. He’s centered in his box, watching for a cross onto the head of one of the attackers rushing the box. It would have taken a great curling effort to beat a keeper positioned there. Unfortunately for Anderlecht, and fortunately for Victor Vazquez, he did just that.
3. Robin van Persie vs Hull
Robin van Persie is one of those players that you can never discount. He is always a danger in and around the box. He’s a genuine, classic styled striker. van Persie may not be the best dribbler (although he is no slouch) but give him an inch to shoot and he’ll put it in the back of the net. You see that here against Hull. He works his way between three defenders while still remaining on side. He then receives the ball and quickly turns with it. A challenge from a Hull defender misses van Persie and before they have another chance to stop him, the shot is off and Hull were 3-nil down.
2. Kevin Mirallas vs Spurs
There are a few things I enjoy about this goal. First and foremost, it was a beaut. Kevin Mirallas might be a [something I can’t write on this site] but he is capable of excellence when given the opportunity. The free kick play was also neat, something you don’t see very often. Trying to fake out the wall and the opposition is one of those things where if it works, it’s a thing of beauty and if it doesn’t you look stupid. The only reason this isn’t higher is because the free kick itself was poor and should have been taken quicker to take advantage of the set piece play.
1. Glen Johnson vs Stoke
There are a lot of facets to this goal that I love. First is the brilliant cross from Jordan Henderson to Rickie Lambert for the header. Next was Lambert’s own headed shot towards the net, which beat Asmir Begovic but was an inch too high and bounced off the top post. Finally, Glen Johnson’s follow up on the shot and brave dive for the goal was what made this goal for me. He came out of the dive bloodied but he put his team in front. This goal was a far cry from the languid, almost lazy, Glen Johnson that Liverpool fans have become accustomed to seeing.
