Ranking the 10 Best Golazos from World Football This Weekend
In a weekend packed with goal-heavy thrillers, a standout match might have been Real Madrid's annihilation of Deportivo La Coruna.
After putting five past Basel on Tuesday, Los Blancos scored eight at Depor, with Cristiano Ronaldo earning a hat-trick and Gareth Bale poaching two striker's goals. The best efforts, however, came from under-fire James Rodriguez and surprise new signing Javier Hernandez.
Madrid's mauling features in our ranking of the 10 best goals from the weekend, which also includes efforts from the Premier League, the Eredivisie, the Bundesliga and the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
10. Ricardo van Rhijn (Ajax) vs. Feyenoord
1 of 10Ajax helped contribute to Feyenoord's poor league start with a 1-0 victory in Rotterdam. The only goal of the game came after five minutes, when right-back Ricardo van Rhijn placed a superb 25-yard free-kick past goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer.
Gain a further appreciation of the technique with additional angles here.
9. Niko Kranjcar (QPR) vs. Stoke City
2 of 10
Stoke City looked to be on their way to a well-deserved 2-1 victory at Loftus Road on Saturday afternoon, but Queens Park Rangers midfielder Niko Kranjcar had other plans.
In the 88th minute, the Croatian showed why Harry Redknapp has signed him four times in his career by putting a perfect 25-yard free-kick beyond the reach of Stoke's Asmir Begovic.
8. Moritz Stoppelkamp (Paderborn) vs. Hannover
3 of 10This season, Paderborn were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history. After their 2-0 win over Hannover on Saturday afternoon, the minnows found themselves at the top of the Bundesliga.
With Paderborn 1-0 up in injury time, Hannover sent their goalkeeper up to help grab a late equaliser, but the plan backfired when left-winger Moritz Stoppelkamp picked up the ball in his own area and blasted it into the opposing goal.
Outside of freak goal kicks, they don't get more long range than that!
7. Diafra Sakho (West Ham) vs. Liverpool
4 of 10
The Premier League delivered several extremely entertaining games this weekend, including Liverpool's visit to Upton Park. West Ham ran out 3-1 winners, thanks to a frenetic start that saw them go up 2-0 in the first seven minutes.
The Hammers' second strike was a beauty from new signing Diafra Sakho, who effortlessly chipped the ball over four Liverpool defenders and Simon Mignolet.
In the process of helping Liverpool to their third defeat of the season, Sakho enjoyed a standout game, with 80 percent pass completion and more interceptions than any other player, as per @WHU_Stats.
6. Angel Di Maria (Manchester United) vs. Leicester City
5 of 10
After demolishing Queens Park Rangers last week, all signs suggested the Manchester United revolution was in full swing when the Red Devils went 2-0 up against Leicester City after just 16 minutes.
Of course, what unfolded was one of the most exciting Premier League matches in recent memory as the Red Devils lost 5-3 and had a man dismissed.
The best of the eight goals came from the left foot of Angel Di Maria. Wayne Rooney fed the Argentine a perfect through ball, which he hit first time with an outrageous chip over Kasper Schmeichel, who had started to advance from his goal line.
5. James Rodriguez (Real Madrid) vs. Deportivo La Coruna
6 of 10Real Madrid unleashed the pent-up disappointment of two consecutive league defeats by inflicting an 8-2 rollicking at Deportivo La Coruna.
Los Blancos' second goal came from James Rodriguez, who answered his critics in the 36th minute by controlling a Karim Benzema pass and blasting it into the top corner from 20 yards.
4. Javier Hernandez (Real Madrid) vs. Deportivo La Coruna
7 of 10Real Madrid were already 5-1 up when Bale was replaced by Javier Hernandez. Ten minutes later, the diminutive Mexican scored his first goal for his new side in stunning fashion, unleashing an unstoppable volley into the top-left corner.
Chicharito scored again two minutes into injury time, completing the 8-2 rout.
3. Nikica Jelavic (Hull City) vs. Newcastle United
8 of 10
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew's future looked quite uncertain after 70 minutes against Hull City, when the Tigers were 2-0 up.
However, the Magpies fought back for a 2-2 draw and bought Pardew some time in the hot seat. The best moment at St. James' Park came from Hull City's Nikica Jelavic, who opened the scoring in the 48th minute with a wonderful scissor kick.
2. Eliseu (Benfica) vs. Moreirense
9 of 10Benfica are top of the Portuguese Liga after five rounds, having beaten Moreirense 3-1 at home on Sunday.
The visitors led for the majority of the game, but the reigning champions began their fightback in the 69th minute when defender Eliseu blasted in an incredible left-footed strike from around 35 yards.
1. Pablo Hernandez (Celta Vigo) vs. Atletico Madrid
10 of 10The award for the most outrageous golazo of the weekend goes to Celta Vigo's Pablo Hernandez, who helped his side earn a 2-2 draw at Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
The Chilean midfielder met a long ball from left-back Carles Planas in the most outrageous manner possible: With his back to goal, he casually backheeled the ball past Miguel Moya. The ball gently dribbled past the goalkeeper, who seemed just as astounded as everyone else.
