'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The European nights are the best thing that could light up a mid-week for a football fan. With the premier club competition entering its second week, stakes were high for a lot of teams, particularly those who lost on day 1.
Real Madrid fell to an agonizing and shameful defeat to the lesser known Russian giant killers, CSKA Moscow. The margin of defeat, one goal. Ajax were much the better team against German Champions Bayern Munich, but Manuel Neuer didn’t let more than one ball slide past him. PSG celebrated their win in a grand fashion with 6 goals past Red Star Belgrade. And somewhere in Italy, it was dead even till the 90th minute but one quick counter changed things. Lorenzo Insigne the scorer for Napoli against Liverpool.
Barcelona and Lionel Messi are no strangers to success at Wembley. They lifted the UEFA Champions League for the first time at Wembley and also 7 years back at Wembley. Lionel Messi scored in the final against Manchester United at Wembley and this time again he scored, twice against Tottenham. Goals ultimately decide the game, Bayern got away with the performance because Ajax couldn’t score. PSG’s dominance is visible because of so many goals, otherwise, no one will notice their 34 attempts. Napoli outplayed Liverpool in the game but to be rewarded the ball had to go in, at least once. As soon as we hear the 4-2 scoreline between Barcelona and Tottenham, we could make that it was a good match. That is the importance of goals.
We saw some amazing goals from some great players. Lionel Messi, Neymar, Dybala, Griezmann, everyone made the scoresheet. But the fashion in which the ball goes in matters too. It makes the game that tad more exciting.
Here are our top five scorers who bend it in, with supreme finesse.
#5 Neymar
A lot of heat and controversy is surrounding Neymar’s possible downfall. From being the hero of Barcelona’s infamous Remonatada to becoming an overhyped Brazilian, Neymar has fallen a long way down. He got 0 votes for the best FIFA Awards from captains, coaches and journalists. However, Neymar is answering all the questions now. He is trying to control his play-acting, he is staying on his feet as much as possible and he is stepping up for his team. With Kylian Mbappe clearly misfiring, as of late, Neymar has gone full throttle. He scored a brace against Nice and then a hattrick against Red Star Belgrade.
Neymar had two stupendous freekicks. The first one curved over with a huge amount of dip in it. However, his second freekick is the one that makes the cut here. It came from a better distance, the keeper knew the threat that would come in advance. Neymar went with a tad bit of power, the ball rising above the wall and dipping just enough to end up in the top corner. The keeper just lost all his reflexes and didn’t move an inch. Neymar celebrated his 22nd career freekick goal. Neymar’s freekick and his hattrick were equally amazing in PSG’s 6-1 win.
#4 Pablo Rosario
PSV Eindhoven previously fell to Barcelona on matchday 1. The Dutch Champions had a visitor in form of Inter Milan who were coming off a home win against Tottenham. With PSV needing to step up the game to stay in contention for qualification, they unleashed a flurry of attacks against Inter early in the game. The attack of PSV, one after other weren’t much of a threat to Inter. However, it was an unlikely hero called Pablo Rosario, who opened the scoring on the night. Unlike the potential opening scorer Hirving Lozano, Rosario is a midfield player. The young 21-year-old Dutch, is relatively unknown and this was only his first senior goal for any team.
Although Rosario is in the PSV team for the playmaking skills and he didn’t disappoint when he had the chance to finish. In the 27th minute, Pablo Rosario found himself free in front of goal. He picked a wide pass with a number of Inter defenders in front. The wide pass was coincidentally towards ace striker Hirving Lozano. Lozano had the ball in his strong right foot but the defensive crowd was too much to get a shot away. Lozano thought better of the shot and picked the perfect option to play Rosario back. This time Rosario had acres of time and space with virtually no pressure from Brozovic. Rosario had a neat look, and with a sublime touch of power and finesse, helped the ball to the top left corner of the goal. The keeper didn’t move a muscle and could only see the ball hit the back of the net.
Sublime finish by young Pablo Rosario.
#3 Alfa Semedo
Benfica and AEK Athens both were coming off a loss on matchday 1. And they played out an amazing game in a 5 goal thriller. Benfica were backed heavily to win the match but it didn’t come without a fight. Seferovic opened the scoring in the 6th minute, followed by the young player from La Masia Alex Grimaldo in the 15th minute. Benfica went into halftime with a two-goal lead and well in the driver’s seat. Athens though hit back with two quick goals from Klonaridis within a space of two minutes. A man down on Benfica’s side, Athens with the momentum were good to add to the lead or close it out. But it was a substitute who decide the game with a moment of magic.
Alfa Semedo replaced Pizzi in the midfield in the 62nd minute. The 21-year-old joined Benfica only this summer. Semedo scored his first goal for Benfica in all competitions and it earned them all three points in the crucial game ahead of the Ajax game. Semedo took the ball away from the AEK midfield intercepting their exchange of passes. He accelerated into the open field ahead on the counter with only one player in front and that too in an offside position. Semedo kept going with the pace until Dmytro Chygrynskiy popped in front and Semedo was forced to go a bit towards his right. Having beaten Chygyrnskiy, Semedo had a clear vision on goal and he pushed the defenders back in thought that he will move inside the box. Niklas Hult didn’t even try to tackle him. With a clear sight at goal and defence on the backfoot, Semedo pulled the trigger with all the momentum of the run. A clean, grounded strike towards the lower left post of the goal that beat the keeper and Semedo was off into a berserk celebration.
A goal that combined the intercepting, dribbling and shooting skills of Alfa Semedo.
#2 Arnaut Groeneveld
Club Brugge were on a visit to Madrid to face Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid. While Brugge entered the game as second favourites, they made Atletico sweat hard before losing. Atletico’s star man Antoine Griezmann scored for them in the 27th minute, followed by a 67th-minute strike. Koke scored late into stoppage time to make it 3-1. The one in the 3-1 was the best goal of the night and a great consolation goal for Club Brugge. It came off the miraculous right foot of Arnaut Groeneveld.
Born in Nigeria and now a Dutch citizen, Groeneveld has already scored 4 goals and assisted thrice in Belgian Pro League. His goal in the Champions League matchday 2 was a blinder. He was up against a keeper of Jan Oblak’s standard and he still beat him convincingly. Danjuma was just sizing but the box near the left wing to deliver a cross. He thought better of it and cut inside parallel to the box. He had the ball at his right foot, with no defenders around, he released a missile from the right foot that beat the attempted block of Santiago Arias and the big Jan Oblak. His position was at the extremity of the left side of the box and he curled the ball perfectly into the lower right corner of the goal. From that distance, providing enough power and curl to beat Oblak is no easy task.
A real piece of skill from Danjuma Arnaut Groeneveld, which created a goal out of nothing.
#1 Ivan Rakitic
How good is Rakitic’s long shot? It has mesmerised us quite a lot of times. Rakitic has a habit of scoring goals that are worth taking note. His El Clasico goal, which beat Kroos and Keylor Navas all ends up, was a stunner. This season, Rakitic’s first goal was nothing short of a rocket volley against Huesca. Rakitic’s combined both the abilities, the volleying and the long shot to rocket one past Lloris.
Rakitic is just a midfielder who supports Busquets, having more of a build-up and defensive role than an attacking one. He was the unsung hero of Croatia’s World Cup campaign in which Luka Modric had the spotlights on him. But Ivan was really instrumental, keeping his calm in the game and the penalty shootouts and he brings that calm to Barcelona as well. With Arthur operating in the controller role, Rakitic was free to move ahead and his goal was another cruise missile.
Lionel Messi pulled off a miraculous lobbed through ball to Luis Suarez, catching the defence completely off guard. Suarez failed to control the ball and chested towards Coutinho. Coutinho let go off it with a volley and Lloris saved. The ball was going out of play, but for the defiance of Phillipe Coutinho. Coutinho completely outside of the baseline, kept the ball in with an acrobatic kick. The ball went straight into Ivan Rakitic’s path at torso level. Although many would have tried to control the ball, Rakitic was going for glory. Rakitic took the ball on one bounce and hit a stunning jumping volley off his laces. The ball whizzed past the defence and off the post into the back of the net, past Lloris.
A brilliant volley from Rakitic, is the best goal from match day 2. Tottenham's Ivan the terrible.
