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Sadio Mane scores for Liverpool in their Premier League victory over Watford at Anfield, Liverpool, February 2019.

15 of the most cruelly forgotten Premier League worldies: Mane, Auba, Matic…

Michael Lee •

Goals from Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United are among those that have been denied their rightful place in the footballing zeitgeist during the Premier League era.

We’ve all seen Dennis Bergkamp turn Nikos Dabizas inside out like a pair of Levi jeans. We keep doom-scrolling while Sky Sports replay Tony Yeboah’s crossbar-destroyer for the millionth time. Cristiano Ronaldo’s free-kick against Portsmouth sporadically appears in our dreams.

Sadly, this means similarly sensational strikes don’t get the credit they deserve. Allow us to rectify that here…

Sadio Mane (Liverpool v Watford, 2018-19)

Hang it in the Louvre.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal v Leicester, 2018-19)

This was all about the borderline-pornographic assist from Mesut Ozil, arguably his last flash of genius in an Arsenal shirt before committing himself fully to Fortnite.

Jon Harley (Fulham v Aston Villa, 2002-03)

Launched with the venom of a First World War howitzer, Harley’s special strike confirmed his spot in Premier League compilations until the sun’s dying day.

Bobby Zamora (QPR v West Brom, 2014-15)

Like a David Lynch film, it takes a couple of repeated viewings to appreciate the genius of Zamora’s chip for an almost-doomed QPR in April 2015.

But the pay-off is infinitely more satisfying than re-watching David Beckham’s halfway line goal for the 123rd time.

Trevor Sinclair (West Ham v Derby, 2001-02)

Filmed by a cameraman who’d overindulged in the Christmas sherry, Sinclair and his West Ham team-mates pre-empted FIFA Street with this jaw-dropper that didn’t touch the floor once.

Sasa Curcic (Bolton v Chelsea, 1995-96)

Like a teenager taking their parent’s car for a joyride, Curcic is hopelessly attracted to danger here as he rides kamikaze tackles with relish. The finish isn’t bad either.

Nemanja Matic (Man Utd v Crystal Palace, 2017-18)

You’ll remember Matic’s crackerjack in the 2017 FA Cup semi-final, a goal laced with such brilliance it rendered Kurt Zouma mute and unable to empathise with our feline population.

But his ping against Palace months later has sadly been overshadowed as a consequence. Allow us to give it the justice it deserves.

Kyle Walker (Tottenham v Blackburn, 2011-12)

Move over Enzo Scifo, this effort redefines ‘foot like a traction engine’.

Cuco Martina (Southampton v Arsenal, 2015-16)

Arsenal were tentatively beginning to dream of the title before a Boxing Day shellacking at Southampton, their 4-0 defeat kickstarted by this goosebump-inducer from Martina.

It was also the only Premier League goal he ever scored, making it approximately 100 times funnier.

Darren Huckerby (Coventry v Man Utd, 1997-98)

Huckerby never quite fulfilled the potential that saw him touted as a future England mainstay in the late 1990s.

But this mazy run, and finish cuter than a baby kitten, to beat Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering Manchester United in 1997 was the stuff of schoolboy dreams.

Mark Davies (Bolton v Blackpool, 2010-11)

After this 2-2 draw with Blackpool, the BBC’s match report claimed Owen Coyle had “turned Bolton into attack-minded entertainers”, which has aged like milk on a sunbed. 

But this last-minute equaliser, with Davies capping off a lovely team move, was the equal of anything produced by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.

Morgan Amalfitano (West Brom v Man Utd, 2013-14)

This was the moment David Moyes was doomed to failure at Old Trafford, watching the snail-esque Amalfitano send Rio Ferdinand halfway to Cheshire before sitting David de Gea down with a dignity-stealing dink.

Neil Redfearn (Charlton v Wimbledon, 1998-99)

Australians are yet to construct a boomerang with as much curl as Redfearn got on this strike during an undercard London derby in late 1998.

Carlton Cole (West Ham v Wigan, 2008-09)

Forget about Pele, Jarzinho and the rest of Brazil’s 1970 ballers; Gianfranco Zola’s West Ham scored the best team goal of all-time on a dank Lancashire evening in 2009.

It’s a hill we’re prepared to die on.

By Michael Lee

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