Wow…how Can you beat that?
IT WAS the goal that had millions waking up from their Bank Holiday snooze and simply saying “wow”.
Watford versus Liverpool was anything but a classic and you cannot blame anyone who enjoyed a bit of a doze at the end of the long weekend.
But Emre Can had other ideas with his spectacular overhead kick that gave Liverpool victory.
The goal of the season? Almost certainly. The best goal ever scored? Maybe.
You only have to look at the stunned reaction of hundreds of Watford fans behind the goal at Vicarage Road to realise this was special.
To be able to wrap his right foot around Lucas’s long ball with such expert timing, with both legs off the ground, was surely a once-in-a-lifetime moment for the German midfielder.
Even Can admitted: “That is the best goal I’ve ever scored.”
His effort, though, was no surprise to his team-mates who watch him in training.
“He does like to try speculative efforts and we will not have a pop now after he produced that,” said Adam Lallana. “It was a ‘worldy’ goal, worthy of winning any game. Credit to him, he was brave enough to try it.”
It has certainly been a season for wonder goals. Another player who had both feet off the ground when he scored was Andy Carroll for West Ham against Crystal Palace back in January.
A certain amount of premeditation was needed from Carroll but he unleashed his spectacular shot with so much velocity the London Stadium was stunned.
But it is difficult to say it was better than Can’s simply for the way the Liverpool man’s goal came out of the blue.
Sadio Mane kick-started his Liverpool career by waltzing through the Arsenal defence on the opening weekend of the campaign before finding the top corner in a goal that earned a 4-3 win.
The Gunners’ maligned defence were once again victims as Chelsea’s Eden Hazard strolled past them in February.
And the outrageous scorpion kicks of Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Manchester United against Sunderland on Boxing Day and Olivier Giroud for Arsenal against Crystal Palace on New Year’s Day can also not be forgotten.
One man who has been erased from West Ham fans’ memories is Dimitri Payet although his wonder run from the left touchline against Middlesbrough proved a rare memorable moment in a disappointing Hammers campaign.
In a similar manner, Gaston Ramirez ran three-quarters of the length of the pitch to score for Boro against Bournemouth in October.
Surely, though, they were not as good as Can’s sublime strike?
A worldy worthy of winning any game