Are there any goals you remember that don’t get proper credit because they were overshadowed by other events?
Maybe a long-distance lob from an unfashionable team, or a brilliantly technical strike in a relegation season. Or even a trademark volley that one player later repeats in more memorable circumstances…
After Dominik Szoboszlai scored another brilliant free kick for Liverpool against Manchester City on Sunday, only for the dramatic comeback and controversial ending to overshadow his strike, we asked our writers for goals they feel have been forgotten.
Let us know yours in the comment section below.
Matt Phillips, Crystal Palace vs Queens Park Rangers, March 2015
The 2014-15 season was largely forgettable for QPR, who finished bottom of the Premier League, eight points adrift of 17th place. They have remained in the Championship ever since.
A tally of 18 league goals for Charlie Austin provided some all-too-rare highlights — as did this Phillips strike at Crystal Palace.
QPR were on a run of one win in 11 Premier League games and were soundly beaten again at Selhurst Park, even if you missed half the game because of the large overhanging gantry in the away end.
Phillips’ strike from 40 yards out was the definition of a consolation goal, but what a consolation goal.
Andrew Pigott
Antonio Rudiger, Chelsea vs Brentford, April 2022
It had become part of the matchday experience during Rudiger’s tenure at the club to see him try a speculative long-range shot and never get close to scoring the spectacular.
With Chelsea struggling to break Brentford down for 48 minutes, the Germany international gave it another go from over 30 yards out. After five years of trying, it finally worked, an absolute treat. The ball dipped and swerved, beating the despairing dive of goalkeeper David Raya before flying in off the post.
However, the joy everyone connected to Chelsea felt at Stamford Bridge was very much short-lived. Brentford equalised just two minutes later and then went on to record an emphatic 4-1 victory against Thomas Tuchel’s side, the club’s first over Chelsea since 1939.
Simon Johnson
Dean Gordon (or Marcus Bent), Crystal Palace vs Bolton Wanderers, May 1998
Crystal Palace stank out the Premier League in 1997-98.
They did not win a home game until mid-April and had been relegated before the end of that month. Steve Coppell, who had taken the team up, was shifted upstairs in the spring.
Attilio Lombardo, assisted by Tomas Brolin, had seven games in charge. By the time the relegated Londoners visited the Reebok Stadium to take on struggling Bolton Wanderers, chairman Ron Noades — in the process of selling the club to Mark Goldberg — was in charge of the team.
They conceded a horrible goal after seven minutes. But left-back Dean Gordon had tired of this constant nonsense. Within seconds, he tore upfield and latched onto team-mate Sasa Curcic’s poor touch.
There was a little ‘leave this to me, lads’ wave of his right arm before he leathered a first-time shot from outside the area across goal and into the far top corner beyond a despairing Keith Branagan. It was completely out of context with the rest of Palace’s campaign, and the most emphatically brilliant thing they did all season until Marcus Bent scored an equally ridiculous second from distance a few minutes later to put the visitors ahead.
Glorious stuff. Oh, and Palace ended up losing 5-2.
Dominic Fifield
Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton, January 2025
Spurs were awful in the Premier League last season. They suffered 22 defeats and finished 17th, ultimately leading to the dismissal of head coach Ange Postecoglou despite winning the Europa League.
One of the lowest points was a defeat by Everton at Goodison Park in January. Tottenham were grappling with an injury crisis that forced Postecoglou to name an unconventional back three of Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin and midfielder Archie Gray.
Losing 3-0 at half-time, Dejan Kulusevski was their only bright spark. He was rewarded for his efforts with a beautiful goal in the 77th minute.
Mikey Moore’s shot was deflected back into Kulusevski’s path and he dinked a first-time shot with his left foot over the heads of four Everton defenders and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. It looked like the ball floated into the net.
Unfortunately for the Sweden international, Spurs fans have no intention of reliving any of their domestic performances last season, so a brilliant goal has been scrubbed from memory.
Jay Harris
Robin van Persie, Arsenal vs Everton, Liverpool and Wigan Athletic
Robin van Persie’s 2012-13 title-winning volley for Manchester United against Aston Villa is often considered ‘the one’.
But Arsenal supporters know that was not the first time the Dutchman executed that type of volley from that type of pass.
Alex Song played the role of Wayne Rooney twice in the previous season. The first time was for an almost identical goal at home against Everton, as you can see.
The second time was away at Liverpool (goal No 91 in this timestamped video). I remember seeing the slowed reverse angle back in 2012 as the footage caught an Arsenal fan shouting, “Oh f***.”
The forward scored another volley after a similar ball in behind from Cesc Fabregas against Wigan Athletic in 2011 (goal No 51 in the video above).
Arsenal supporters may not look back too fondly, given the way things ended with Van Persie, but that moment that won United the league had been perfected well before. The consistent execution and variation in those volleys displayed just how technically gifted Van Persie was and deserve recognition.
Art de Roché
Charlie Adam, Chelsea vs Stoke City, April 2015
Stoke City were 1-0 down at Stamford Bridge when Stephen Ireland robbed Eden Hazard of possession on the edge of the area. Jonathan Walters controlled his pass and cushioned it into the path of the advancing Charlie Adam, who was midway in his own half.
He took two touches and looked up, cutting across the ball with an audacious strike that swerved and sailed into the net, beating Thibaut Courtois from 63.9 yards out. The frantically backtracking Belgian goalkeeper got a touch with his outstretched left arm, but could only help the ball into the net before following it across the goal line.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said afterwards that “every player in the world would like to score a goal like that — Diego Maradona to Lionel Messi to all these brilliant players”.
But ultimately, Adam’s “once in a lifetime” goal is a glorious footnote. It came during a 2-1 home win for Mourinho’s title-winners — one of 15 of 19 at home that season (they drew the other four) — while Mark Hughes’ Stoke went on to finish ninth that year.
Andy Naylor
Craig Gardner, Birmingham City v Tottenham Hotspur, May 2011
What a rollercoaster ride the 2010-11 season was for Birmingham City supporters.
They sensationally beat Arsenal at Wembley to claim only their second piece of major silverware and book a place in Europe the next season.
But they were also relegated with a relatively high total of 39 points. The day that fate was sealed was their campaign in a nutshell.
They went to White Hart Lane as one of five teams that could go and fell behind early, but when Craig Gardner scored a stunning equaliser with 10 minutes to go, they were safe.
It was a sweet strike too, with Gardner taking the ball down and striking it from distance through a crowd of players and into the bottom corner.
The celebratory scenes were epic, but short-lived as Wolverhampton Wanderers scored in their game against Blackburn Rovers, leaving Birmingham needing another and, as they pushed on in stoppage time, they were picked off by Spurs and lost 2-1.
Birmingham were relegated, meaning Gardner’s stunning strike was for absolutely nothing and quickly forgotten.
Rob Tanner
