10 Best Golazos from World Football This Weekend
There was no shortage of goals over the weekend, with an average of four per game in the Premier League's nine fixtures (a tally buoyed by Southampton's 8-0 demolition of Sunderland).
There were also plenty of goal-fests on the continent, including Real Madrid's 5-0 victory over Levante and Bayern Munich's 6-0 triumph over Werder Bremen. Both of those games provided golazos that make our ranking of the most beautiful strikes from the weekend...
10. Isco (Real Madrid) vs. Levante
1 of 10Prior to the visit of Real Madrid on Saturday, Levante were given odds of 18/1 for the win by several bookies, such was the landslide expected from the visitors.
Los Blancos put on a dominant display in which Cristiano Ronaldo added another two goals to his incredible tally for this season, but a few of his teammates stole the limelight with some fantastic finishes. Isco is one such teammate, who produced a beautiful finish to make it 5-0 in the 82nd minute.
9. Oscar (Chelsea) vs. Crystal Palace
2 of 10
On their last visit to Selhurst Park, Chelsea left empty-handed. On Saturday, however, they managed to fend off Crystal Palace's late advances to take all three points back to West London.
Cesc Fabregas bagged his first goal for Chelsea in style, but the best goal of the 2-1 victory was scored in the sixth minute by Oscar. Lining up a free-kick from around 25 yards, the Brazilian shot across Julian Speroni's goal into the top left corner.
8. Alessandro Cordaro (Mechelen) vs. Anderlecht
3 of 10Mechelen looked like they may be on course to upset Belgian Pro League leaders Anderlecht on Saturday when they took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute. The goal came from midfielder Alessandro Cordaro, who looped a beautiful volley into the net from outside the area.
Anderlecht eventually fought back to earn a 1-1 draw.
7. Paul Pogba (Juventus) vs. Sassuolo
4 of 10Juventus' visit to Sassuolo on Saturday saw the top team in Serie A face the bottom one. Accordingly, many were expecting a landslide victory for the Old Lady.
However, the points were split with a 1-1 draw, and Juve actually went behind before Paul Pogba levelled in the 19th minute with yet another beautiful goal to add to his CV.
6. Heung-Min Son (Bayer Leverkusen) vs. Stuttgart
5 of 10Despite taking a 3-0 lead into the dressing room at half-time, Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 3-3 draw by Stuttgart on Saturday.
Heung-Min Son scored Leverkusen's first two within nine minutes, the second of which was a rocket of a half- volley to capitalise on a poor clearance from Stuttgart keeper Thorsten Kirschbaum.
5. Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich) vs. Werder Bremen
6 of 10Bayern Munich maintained their four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table on Saturday, thanks to a comprehensive 6-0 win over Werder Bremen.
Mario Gotze found the just before the close of each half, with his first strike proving to be one of his finest. After being fed the ball on the edge of the box by David Alaba, the German tricked his defender with a sublime touch to change direction, before curling a beautiful left-footed shot past the keeper.
4. Philipp Steinhart (Bayern Munich II) vs. Schalding-Heining
7 of 10While Bayern Munich's first team shined at the weekend, their reserves recorded a 3-1 win over Schalding-Heining in Germany's regional fourth tier.
Bayern's second was scored in emphatic style by left-back Philipp Steinhart. Picking up a corner kick on the edge of the box in the 64th minute, the 22-year-old took a touch to control the ball and then turned his body to fire off a fantastic half-volley.
3. Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray) vs. Fenerbahce
8 of 10The Istanbul derby rarely fails to deliver drama—and there was plenty in Saturday's Turkish Super Lig edition.
There are typically plenty of red cards in this fixture, and Fener's Bruno Alves earned one for a horrendous high challenge.
However, the headlines in this game were stolen by Wesley Sneijder, who bagged two amazing goals for Galatasaray in the last two minutes. His second, which turned out to be a 90th-minute winner, was a spectacular right-footed drive from 30 yards.
2. Marvin Ducksch (Paderborn) vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
9 of 10The fourth German golazo of this ranking comes from Eintracht Frankfurt's visit to Paderborn on Sunday.
The visitors took the lead after 57 minutes, but Paderborn struck back nine minutes later via an incredible strike from Marvin Ducksch.
The 20-year-old striker somehow managed to beat the keeper with an inspired volley from an impossible angle on the left corner of the penalty area.
1. James Rodriguez (Real Madrid) vs. Levante
10 of 10Around 15 minutes before Isco scored the golazo that started this ranking, James Rodriguez produced something even more special.
Toni Kroos chipped a perfect pass through to the Colombian, who controlled the ball on his chest before volleying home with his left foot.
