Amazing Goals

With Serge Aurier on his back and Davinson Sánchez and Harry Winks converging, Alexandre Lacazette took two touches into space before rifling a 20-yard effort beyond Hugo Lloris to open the scoring in Sunday’s North London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

The natural sound — enjoyed through the NBC Sports website stream — perfectly captured the violence of Lacazette’s punishing finish. The highlights provided by NBC and Telemundo include the simulated crowd noise, but Lacazette’s punt is still audible and the “SHWACK” of the net remains entirely satisfying. 

Danny Welbeck's spectacular bicycle kick propelled Watford to three vital points in their battle against Premier League relegation as they came from behind to beat Norwich City 2-1 at Vicarage Road on Tuesday.

Former England international Welbeck scored his first league goal for Watford since joining at the start of the season in the 56th minute and it proved the winner as they moved four points clear of the relegation places with four games remaining. It was his first goal since August 2018 when he was still playing for Arsenal.

Sometimes it seems to me like beIN Sports is actively working to safeguard LaLiga from American viewers. Much of the television network’s coverage since 2012 — rather than celebrating a golden era that’s included Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo going head-to-head in sport’s greatest individual and team rivalry — has been hellbent on being as unappealing as possible.*

*I’m not talking about the commentary partnership of Phil Schoen and Ray Hudson here. They’re the best. 

Back in January, Pep Guardiola was asked by a reporter if he thought Sergio Agüero was the world’s best No. 9. Guardiola’s response was classic: “The best is Messi. Messi is (the best) number nine, number 10, number 11, number seven, number six, number five, number four…” 

Che Adams scored his first goal for Southampton, a year after joining the club, with a stunning long-range strike as they beat Manchester City 1-0 to condemn Pep Guardiola's side to a third successive away loss in the Premier League.

Adams signed for Saints from Birmingham City for a reported $18.72 million in July, 2019, and had failed to score in his previous 24 league appearances for the team.

Real Madrid's Karim Benzema produced an audacious back-heeled assist for Casemiro to score as they beat Espanyol 1-0 away on Sunday to capitalize on Barcelona's slip-up a day earlier and move two points clear at the top of LaLiga.

Brazilian midfielder Casemiro slid to the ground to guide the ball home on the stroke of halftime after being played in by a stroke of genius from Benzema, who dragged the ball through the legs of the defender marking him to find his team mate.

Substitute Luis Muriel rifled in two long-range goals as irrepressible Atalanta beat Udinese 3-2 away on Sunday for their third straight win since restarting the Serie A campaign.

The league's most prolific team took their tally to 80 goals in 28 games, including 10 in three matches since the resumption, as they stayed fourth and on course for a Champions League spot.