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Gary Neville has picked Mateo Kovacic's wonder strike for Chelsea against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge as his best goal of the 2021/22 Premier League season.
The Blues played out a scintillating 2-2 draw at the Bridge against the Reds on January 2. Sadio Mane gave Liverpool the lead in the 9th minute before Mohamed Salah doubled it 17 minutes later.
Mateo Kovacic then halved the deficit with a brilliant strike from the edge of the box. After the Liverpool defense failed to properly clear a corner, the ball lobbed its way to the Croatian, who had to jog back to strike on the half valley.
Kovacic took the shot while running back. It was a mix of a volley and a chip but found its way into the right top corner of the Reds' goal. While speaking on Monday Night Football, Neville rated it as the best goal in the Premier League this season.
Asked to pick his favorite goal, Neville answered:
"Kovacic. I like picking a goal where I was at the game. It was a brilliant moment. It was a decent punch, height and distance. To take those two or three steps back, that was the thing. He skips as he hits it. I thought that was an amazing goal in a great game."
Christian Pulisic scored the second goal four minutes later to level the score at 2-2. Although no other goal was scored that night, the two sides played out a high-tempo draw in what was a classic example of an exciting Premier League clash.
Liverpool and Chelsea have tussled four times this season
The Blues and Reds have faced each other four times this season. Their first encounter ended in a 1-1 draw at Anfield. Chelsea were reduced to 10 men in the first half but held on to escape with a rare point at Anfield.
The second clash was the aforementioned Premier League encounter. The next two matches took place at Wembley. Both were cup finals (Carabao and FA Cup).
Both games ended 0-0 with the two sides having a decent go at each other. On both occasions, it was the Reds who emerged victorious in the penalty shootouts.
