Just about every goalkeeper dreams of scoring a goal. After trying to prevent a goal for 90 minutes, a keeper just wants the ball at the other end of the damn field. We’ve seen some crazy goals from goalkeepers throughout the years, whether it be from their own box or going up for a last minute corner and somehow scoring.
Riley McGree, a 19-year-old midfielder for Newcastle Jets in the A-League, has a very real chance of claiming the 2018 Puskas Award thanks to this ridiculous piece of improvisation against Melbourne City on Friday.
In one of the ultimate glamor ties of European club football, it was Real Madrid left back Marcelo who emerged as Wednesday’s Man of the Match in his side’s 2-1 away leg victory over Bayern Munich.
The 29-year-old Brazilian’s day got off to a flyer when opposition winger Arjen Robben was forced off with an injury as early as the 8th minute. The introduction of Thiago Alcantara as his replacement immediately shifted Bayern’s focus to the middle of the park and allowed Marcelo more freedom to get forward on the wing.
It’s 1-1 at halftime in an enthralling UEFA Champions League semifinal between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena, Joshua Kimmich opening the scoring for Bayern in the 28’ before Marcelo’s sweet strike evened things up in the 44’.
Jupp Heynckes has been forced into two early substitutions with both Arjen Robben and Jerome Boateng limping off injured, but Bayern took the lead when Real failed to track the run of Kimmich. The 23-year-old left back then punished Real with a clinical finish.
Usual purveyors of the Marseille Turn, players like Zinedine Zidane, Diego Maradona, Isco and Paul Pogba, have dazzled spectators with their uncanny ability to escape pressure and change their available passing lanes with the most graceful skill in the game.
However, it’s incredibly rare that you see the roulette skill lead directly to a goalscoring opportunity. The turn is more typically associated with the war being waged in midfield rather than the attacking third.
There are some hits that are just so pure, so instinctual, so well struck and so fucking powerful that they defy everything we thought we knew about sport. There was Albert Pujols’ monster home run off Brad Lidge in the 2005 NLCS that may still be in lower-Earth orbit to this day. Then there’s Matt Prater nailing a 64-yard field goal in the NFL or Andre Agassi’s ridiculous service return. And on Sunday there was this Kevin de Bruyne goal vs Swansea City.