Taking on an entire defense on your own takes stones and that is what Hatem Ben Arfa had when he scored this unreal solo goal. The 28-year-old from France began his run fending off a defender and then going balls to the wall towards the goal. Ben Arfa kept his head up and went at 5 St. Etienne defenders before blasting a low right footed shot past the keeper.
With Lionel Messi out with a knee injury, Barcelona needed someone to step up, and they got just that with this Suarez goal vs Leverkusen in the second round of Champions League group matches. The Uruguayan executed a perfect finish off of a pass from Munir El Haddadi, who weaseled his way through the Leverkusen defense. Barcelona were not playing very Barcelona like during the match. They were out possesed and out shot, but come the 82nd minute Suarez stepped up to the plate and cracked a perfectly placed right footed shot into the upper corner.
Everyone, Robert Lewandowski scored 5 goals in 9 minutes. Now there are a lot of things that can happen in 9 minutes, but scoring 5 goals in a Bundesliga match against a top opponent in the league is about as much an anomaly as Donald Trump leading the primaries for the GOP. But both things are happening, and the goal explosion has spurred something special for Lewandowski. The Polish player has been on an absolte tear since the 5 goal performance. Since then he has added 7 more goals in the following three games after arguably the best 10 minute soccer performance of all time.
More than a buzzer beater, more than a last second touchdown, more than a walk-off home run, a last second goal absolutely stuns you more than anything else in sports. Real soccer fans will understand how unbelievably difficult it is to score. The factors that have to align, the luck that has to be present to make a last second strike ring true is enough to make a atheist drop to his knees and look up to the skies with tears in his eyes. The crowd gets it; the players get it; the coaches get it as they collapse into each others arms: last minute goals make life worth living.
This Christen Eriksen goal for Tottenham is what Spurs fans were expecting from the Denmark international this season. The lad has had a slow start in the Premier League, but his two goal performance this weekend may be a sign for what's to come from the 23-year-old. Sitting in the middle of the tabe and coming off a 4-1 shalacking of first place Chelsea, Tottenham looked to steal three points from a solid Swansea team who hasn't won since their 2-1 victory over Manchester United back in August.
Barcelona’s La Masia seems like an unstoppable, unending flow of talent, and this La Masia goal seems to reinforce that.
The famed academy recently was forced to release several of its players, but that doesn’t seem to have made any difference in the slightest, because the goals are still flowing and the talent is still high-five-ing.
Behold, the La Masia goal of the week, courtesy of the Alevin A (U12) squad.
One thing we can't get enough of here at The18 is a ridiculous bicycle kick. And boy do we have one to share with you. Zach Knudson, a sophomore from Oakland, New Jersey provided us with this gem of a goal as N.C. State tied #4 Notre Dame this past weekend.
An Alexis Sanchez goal in the first five minutes of the match vs Manchester United set the tone for the Gunners as they marched their way to a 3-0 victory in the Emirates this weekend. Alexis Sanchez continued his tear netting this ridiculous back heel to put the Gunners up 1-0. Only a minute late Mesut Ozil added to the tally and the route was on. It was a vintage Arsenal performance as the Gunners played with pace and creativity, while Manchester United looked stuck in the mud. The result was what Arsenal needed after coming off a Champions League loss to Olympiakos.
Was it the greatest performance by a soccer player in a final? Yes. Carli Lloyd's hat-trick in the 2015 Women's World Cup final only took 16 minutes, and was capped off with a 50 yard boot over the Japan keepers head, giving the USWNT a commanding lead not even half way through the first half. All three goals showed off Lloyd's skill set.
The first: Lloyd streaks into the box beating her defender to the ball and executes a difficult finish with the outside of her left foot.
Is there anything he can't do?! No. Is this his best goal ever? WE DON'T KNOW. This Lionel Messi goal in The Copa Del Rey final just might win the award for the greatest La Pulga goal ever. But what about his goal vs Getafe? Or when he ended Jerome Boateng? And dozens of others that we simply just can't mention because then this post would get way too long. Here's the deal. Messi is the greatest player of the generation. I don't think most players would even try to do what he did in this goal, let alone actually pull it off.