10 Best Golazos from World Football This Weekend
It has been an exceptionally fruitful weekend for beautiful goals, making it tougher than usual to compile this ranking. Jonjo Shelvey's wonder strike against Southampton falls outside the top 10, as does Robin Van Persie's well-executed half-volley against Leicester.
Paul Dybala's lovely free-kick against Verona also deserves an honourable mention, as does Javier Balboa's game-winning dead ball in the Africa Cup of Nations, Christian Eriksen's strike at the Hawthorns and Pablo De Blasis' curling effort against Paderborn. Furthermore, Diogo Figueiras' long-range strike for Sevilla against Espanyol was impressive, as was Sammy Ameobi's 25-yard drive against Hull.
Here are the best goals from world football this weekend...
10. Kris Commons (Celtic) vs. Rangers
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Cletic and Rangers played out the first Old Firm derby in three years on Sunday. The Scottish League Cup semi-final wasn't exactly a classic—The Guardian make note of the dire nature of the game in their match report—but there was one moment of beauty, when Kris Commons scored the Bhoys second goal in the 31st minute.
9. Nicola Sansone (Sassuolo) vs. Internazionale
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Internazionale slipped down to 13th place in Serie A on Sunday, thanks to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Sassuolo.
The Neroverdi's opener was a fantastic strike from Simone Zaza, but their second might have been even better.
In the 29th minute, Nicola Sansone approached the goal from the left flank, navigated past a defender and found the back of the net in sensational style, with a little help from the crossbar.
8. Nolito (Celta Vigo) vs. Cordoba
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Celta Vigo managed a 1-0 win over troubled Cordoba on Saturday, marking their first Liga win since they overcame Barcelona on 1 November.
The goal was a sublime curling effort from 28-year-old striker Nolito, made all the more beautiful by the dummy on the edge of the area from teammate Fabian Orellana.
7. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) vs. Real Sociedad
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David Moyes' Real Sociedad took a surprise lead at the Bernabeu after less than one minute of play, but Real Madrid eventually stormed to a 4-1 win.
Karim Benzema bagged a brace, the second of which was a delightful one-touch effort into the top corner in the 76th minute.
It was the Frenchman's 11th goal in 18 starts this season, as per ESPN FC.
6. Hulk (Zenit St Petersburg) vs. BATE Borisov
5 of 10With the Russian Premier League not set to recommence until March, league leaders Zenit St Petersburg are training in the warmer climes of Turkey.
On Sunday, they played a friendly with BATE Borisov, in which Hulk managed to score a beautiful goal directly from a corner.
Granted, this was only a friendly, but one cannot take anything away from that perfect technique.
5. Bas Dost (Wolfsburg) vs. Bayern Munich
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Bayern Munich restarted their Bundesliga campaign on Friday evening at Wolfsburg, having conceded only four goals all season. Within 73 minutes, the league leaders had doubled that tally as they crashed to a shock 4-1 defeat—their first loss in the league since April.
Dutch striker Bas Dost scored Die Wolfe's first two goals, the second of which was a spectacular volley from the edge of the area seconds before the half-time break.
4. Christian Atsu (Ghana) vs. Guinea
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Ghana progressed to the semi-finals of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday with a 3-0 win over Guinea.
Everton's Christian Atsu was the star of the show, bagging a brace that included this exceptional goal of the tournament contender.
3. Mauricio Pinilla (Atalanta) vs. Cagliari
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Atalanta and Cagliari were drawing 1-1 in the 94th minute of their Serie A relegation scrap when a moment of magic settles the tie.
Atalanta's Chilean striker Mauricio Pinilla helped the home side secure three points in the dying seconds with a wonderful overhead kick.
There are few better ways to earn your side a vital three points than that.
2. Uros Djurdjevic (Vitesse) vs. Ajax
9 of 10Title-chasing Ajax lost 1-0 to Eredivisie rivals Vitesse on Sunday, thanks to a stunner from Uros Djurdjevic.
In the 85th minute, the Serbian forward controlled a cross on his chest, knocked it over a defender and then slotted home a glorious half-volley.
It was the 20-year-old's first goal for Vitesse since joining from FK Rad in the summer.
1. Ricardo Quaresma (Porto) vs. Pacos Ferreira
10 of 10Porto stormed to a 5-0 win over Pacos Ferreira on Sunday, with Ricardo Quaresma scoring twice before the half.
The former Chelsea winger's second was a sublime strike with the outside of his right foot from the edge of the area, which tucked perfectly into the top-left corner.
