We here at The18 do not like goal GIFs. OK, maybe we like some of them. But mostly, we don’t like them. We, like you, have been burned too many times on Twitter, expecting to see a great replay of a goal only to get a stupid GIF merely telling us what we already knew, that soandso scored for suchandsuch team.
It was one of those matches where you wondered if the manager would get away with resting some of his big stars on the bench. It was one of those matches where you always felt the team in the lead would regret not adding a second or third. It was one of those matches where you weren’t shocked at all to see the road underdog score an equalizer to steal a point.
For the neutral, there’s no better scoreline in football than 3-2. Goals, end-to-end action and drama are all promised in such an outcome, and Leicester City’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Newcastle United delivered Saturday.
On the 125th anniversary of Newcastle’s founding, Joselu brought the 52,000-strong audience to its feet by opening the scoring following some great work by Dwight Gayle.
Let’s get straight to it. You’ve seen a goal like this before; it’s definitely Marco van Basten-esque. Seasoned Bournemouth striker Jermain Defoe utilized nearly 20 years of professional experience to produce the work of a master goalscorer on Saturday, hitting this instinctive but technically perfect half-volley against Crystal Palace in Premier League play.
Matchweek 16 of the English Premier League kicked off Saturday morning with relegation candidates West Ham shocking defending champions Chelsea 1-0 at the London Stadium. David Moyes’ first victory as Hammers boss was secured by Marko Arnautovic, the $27 million man who’d yet to score following his summer move from Stoke City.
But Moyes suddenly seems like the right man for the job with Arnautovic finding net and West Ham climbing to 18th in the table, with just their horrific goal difference of minus 18 keeping them from safety.
Sean McConville of Accrington Stanley is the main culprit here. If this were a game of Clue, I’d suggest it was Sean McConville, all the way from the conservatory, with a lead pipe.
What we have here is a classic case of too much violence in the EFL Checkatrade Trophy. The Red Imps of Lincoln City were on the receiving end of this hit from McConville, but they still managed to comeback on two occasions and prevail 3-2.