“Cometh the hour, cometh the man!”
How often have we heard this phrase in match commentary? It became a cult classic when David Beckham scored a crucial 93rd-minute free-kick in a qualifier against Greece to ensure England’s progress to the 2002 World Cup. Since then, the phrase has been beaten to death but there have been instances where it was apt.
We take a look at five players who have scored the most goals in the final 10 minutes of games this season. Stats as of 3 April 2017.
#5 Diego Costa (Chelsea) – 5 late goals
Chelsea’s Premier League title bid was almost derailed even before the season started when Diego Costa informed Antonio Conte that he wanted to leave the club and move back to Spain. La Liga giants Atletico Madrid were interested in bringing back their striker and Costa’s head was turned.
However, Conte put his foot down and Costa returned to training with his tail between his legs when Atletico signed Kevin Gameiro instead. But the Brazilian-born Spanish striker then set about returning to form and he started doing what he did best – score goals. With no midweek European fixtures to tire him out, Costa played every weekend.
In fact, his first goal of the season was an 89th-minute winner against London rivals West Ham in a 2-1 win. A week later, he repeated the feat in a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Watford thanks to an 87th-minute winner.
Costa has been the difference-maker for Chelsea, ensuring they come away with three certain points on a number of occasions. With 17 goals so far, he is still in the race for the Golden Boot.
#4 Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) – 6 late goals
Arsenal’s mercurial forward has been in scintillating form this season. Having banged in 25 goals in his first season with the Gunners, the Chilean looks set to eclipse that mark this season with at least 10 more games to go in all competitions.
Although he is only third in the Premier League Golden Boot race, he has nine assists to go with the 18 goals scored in the league. Only Romelu Lukaku has been involved in as many goals as Alexis this season but the Belgian has effectively played two games more than Alexis.
While a contract impasse gives Alexis more headlines than warranted, there is no question that the club would be nowhere near the top four without him. His frustrations and remonstrations saw Arsene Wenger bench him at Anfield, he quickly realised he needed his services and brought him on at half-time.
More often than not, Alexis completes the full quota of 90 minutes and it comes as no surprise that a third of his goals have come in the last 10 minutes. The most memorable goal was the 98th-minute winner against Burnley in a 2-1 win when Arsenal were down to 10 men.
Other opponents include Hull City (in the home and away fixtures), Bournemouth (in stoppage time) and West Ham (two late goals were part of his hat-trick in a 5-1 hammering).
#3 Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan) – 6 late goals
Inter haven’t had the best campaign in Serie A this season. The Italian giants have fallen a long way in the past few years but there was some hope when they had a decent squad. But four losses and two draws in the first 10 games saw them slip into the bottom half of the table. New manager Frank de Boer was soon sacked in November.
However, there was one positive from Inter’s bizarre season – Mauro Icardi. Despite a fractured relationship with the Inter ultras, the Argentine striker has managed to score goals at will. Tied for second with 20 league goals, the 24-year-old even signed a contract extension that saw a buy-out clause of €110m inserted.
But things were so bad at the club that they needed him to score a 91st-minute winner to defeat Pescara who are currently at the bottom of the table with just two wins. He had to save the day again to beat Torino 2-1 with an 88th-minute winner. He also scored two very late goals against Crotone (88th and 93rd minute).
#2 Lionel Messi (Barcelona) – 6 late goals
Barcelona’s talisman Lionel Messi last won the Pichichi (most goals in a La Liga season) back in 2013. Since then it has been pretty much a two-horse race between Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez.
However, this season Messi has come back to the form that saw him win consecutive Ballon d’Or awards. The Argentine forward leads the Liga goalscoring charts with 25 goals so far, closely followed by Suarez on 23.
The Catalan club have been playing catch-up with Real Madrid for the majority of the season and they have Messi to thank for a number of late goals. His crucial winner in the 3-2 victory over Valencia came in the 94th minute while his free-kick in the 90th minute against Villarreal rescued a point. Osasuna and Espanyol have also suffered at his hands, er, feet.
A 90th-minute Messi penalty also saw Barcelona beat Leganes 2-1 while an 86th-minute winner helped Barcelona claim all three points against Atletico Madrid when Diego Simeone’s side looked certain to share the spoils.
#1 Romelu Lukaku (Everton) – 9 late goals
The Belgian international is only 23 years old but he currently leads the Premier League Golden Boot race with 21 goals. With six assists to boot, he is tied with Alexis Sanchez with both players involved in 27 goals (goals and assists) – the highest in the league. His Everton contract runs out in 2019 and he is yet to sign an extension, especially with former club Chelsea rumoured to be circling Goodison Park in a bid to sign him back.
The Merseyside club have blown hot and cold under Ronald Koeman this season, as has Lukaku. Though they started the season strong with a four-match winning streak that made reaching the top four seem highly plausible, they have slipped up and now sit seventh on the table.
But no player in Europe has scored more late goals than Lukaku this season. The Toffees striker’s memorable strikes came against Leicester City (91st minute), Southampton (89th minute), twice against Bournemouth in a 6-3 rout, Sunderland (80th minute), West Brom (82nd minute) and two in stoppage time against Hull City.
With only three top six teams left to play, Lukaku could take home the Golden Boot at the end of the season with Harry Kane out injured. But Alexis and Zlatan Ibrahimovic may have a say with their two games in hand.
