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We’re now past the halfway mark in the 2019-20 edition of the Premier League, and already we’ve seen a ton of amazing action, great games and naturally, plenty of controversy too. Thankfully, we’ve also seen a lot of absolutely tremendous goals.
With more than 600 goals scored across the board thus far, there have been plenty of spectacular strikes to enjoy, from long-range blasters to incredible moments of technical skill. Naturally, some have stood out more than others, though – and so in chronological order, here are 5 candidates for the Premier League’s Goal of the Season so far.
1. Fikayo Tomori – Chelsea vs. Wolves, 14th September 2019
Derby’s Player of the Season for 2018-19 during his loan spell there, Fikayo Tomori was brought into the Chelsea first team by Frank Lampard for the Blues’ August game with Sheffield United, but few people expected the defender to score his first Premier League goal against Wolves in only his second match in the top flight – and practically nobody expected it to be a Goal of the Season contender.
The goal opened the scoring for the Blues – who went onto win the match 2-5 – and came in the 31st minute. A corner was played to Mason Mount, who sent it to Willian, but when he attempted to pass it back to the young Englishman, an interception sent the ball away from the Wolves box – and into the path of Tomori, who walloped it with his right foot, sending it flying into the top corner of the net from around 25 yards.
Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio was given literally no chance by the strike, and while the young England international has not found the back of the net for Chelsea since, the chances are that when he does, it won’t be as spectacular as this goal.
2. Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City vs. Newcastle United, 30th November 2019
Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne has arguably been the most outstanding player in the Premier League thus far in 2019-20, and although he’s scored 7 goals to date, none have been better than this spectacular strike against Newcastle in November – although his tremendous drive against Arsenal came close.
This goal came with the match at St. James’ Park tied at 1-1 with just under 10 minutes remaining. A cross from the left from defender Benjamin Mendy was headed away by a Newcastle defender – but only to the Belgian, who was lurking on the edge of the box. De Bruyne took a masterful touch with his chest, before unleashing an unstoppable half-volley into the top corner, the ball crashing in off the crossbar for good measure.
It was a truly fantastic goal, with the Belgian wizard using an absolutely picture-perfect technique to wrap his foot around the ball for maximum power and accuracy. And although City weren’t able to win the match – Jonjo Shelvey equalised just 6 minutes later – this was the moment that clearly stood out; a moment of pure brilliance.
3. Jack Grealish – Aston Villa vs. Manchester United, 1st December 2019
Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has earned plenty of plaudits for his performances thus far in 2019-20, and it’s been with good reason. The flashy midfielder has taken to life in the Premier League like a duck to water, scoring 6 goals and registering 5 assists, while also practically carrying the Villains through many of their games.
His best moment thus far? The goal he scored against Manchester United to put Villa into a 0-1 lead at Old Trafford. Receiving the ball on the far left side of the penalty box following an overhit cross from Anwar El Ghazi, Grealish weaved past a static Andreas Pereira before whipping a right-footed shot into the top right hand corner, catching David De Gea completely unaware with some amazing curl on the ball.
To leave a goalkeeper the calibre of Spain’s #1 standing in shock takes some serious skill and nerve, and that’s exactly what Grealish displayed here, showing exactly why he’s both tipped for a maiden England call-up later in the season – and if Villa are relegated, a big-money move to one of the Premier League’s giants too.
4. Son Heung Min – Tottenham Hotspur vs. Burnley, 7th December 2019
Son Heung Min has scored plenty of spectacular goals during his career at Tottenham Hotspur, but he somehow managed to outdo himself with a simply ridiculous goal in his side’s 5-0 victory over Burnley in early December. The Clarets’ defence was already struggling to contain Tottenham’s attacking verve, but when Son collected the ball on the edge of his own box, things were about to get worse.
The South Korean international set off on a mazy, slaloming run that caught Burnley’s whole team off guard; Son simply turned on the afterburners, with a quick flick of the ball taking him past five defenders, and another sending him past Erik Pieters and into the box. A simple finish past Nick Pope followed and the forward had scored one of the all time great Premier League goals.
Post-match analysis saw the strike compared to similarly great goals from Diego Maradona and George Weah, and in all honesty, it’ll take something absolutely spectacular to top it as Goal of the Season when 2019-20 comes to an end. In an up-and-down season for Spurs fans, this was clearly the highest point thus far.
5. Jordan Ayew – Crystal Palace vs. West Ham, 26th December 2019
Crystal Palace have been one of 2019-20’s surprise packages thus far; tipped to struggle in the Premier League, Roy Hodgson’s side actually sit in 9th position, just 5 points behind Manchester United in 5th. Part of the reason for this success has been the goals of Jordan Ayew; the Ghanaian international has scored 6 of Palace’s 20 this season.
His crowning moment undoubtedly came against West Ham on Boxing Day, a game that the Eagles won 2-1 thanks to Ayew’s brilliant 90th-minute winner. Receiving the ball practically on the bye-line on the right side of the pitch, the striker quickly cut inside and headed towards the box, then somehow managed a 360° pirouette to slip past Declan Rice.
Even from there, Ayew still had work to do – but he made it look easy, ghosting past a further two defenders with quick feet before deftly chipping the ball over the oncoming Lukasz Fabianski. It was a work of pure genius and worthy of winning any Premier League match – and should definitely be considered one of the Goals of the Season.
