10 Best Golazos from World Football This Weekend
Suffice it to say, it was a vintage weekend for goals in the Premier League. Half of the weekend's golazo rankings come from the English top flight, with particularly special efforts from the likes of Wayne Rooney and Charlie Adam.
Before we get to the main event, honourable mentions go to Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez's efforts in Arsenal's crusade over Liverpool, Cristiano Ronaldo's third goal of five in Real Madrid's 9-1 destruction of Grenada, Wesley Sneijder's beautiful free-kick for Galatasaray and Blaise Matuidi's delectable finish against Marseille in La Classique.
And now on to the main course. Here are the 10 finest goals of the weekend.
10. Hulk (Zenit St. Petersburg) vs. CSKA Moscow
1 of 10Zenit opened up an eight-point lead over Russian Premier League title rivals CSKA Moscow on Sunday with a 2-1 home win.
Hulk scored both of Zenit's goals, opening his account just after the hour mark with an absolute rocket from distance.
9. Jonas (Benfica) vs. Nacional
2 of 10Benfica went six points clear at the top of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Saturday with a 3-1 home victory over Nacional.
Brazilian striker Jonas scored twice, the first of which was a tremendous right-footed strike that rattled the woodwork on its way into the net.
It should be noted that Nacional's consolation goal was also impressive.
8. Marco Parolo (Lazio) vs. Cagliari
3 of 10Plenty of great free-kicks were scored over the weekend, but perhaps none more unique than Marco Parolo's indirect daisy cutter for Lazio in their 3-1 win at Cagliari.
The injury-time strike managed to combine power with a beautiful out-swinging curve.
7. Bobby Zamora (QPR) vs. West Brom
4 of 10
Queens Park Rangers picked up three rare points on the road with a 4-1 win at West Brom on Saturday.
A few minutes before the half, QPR forward Bobby Zamora added to his personal highlight reel with a delightful first-time chip over Glyn Myhill in the Baggies' goal.
6. Bafetimbi Gomis (Swansea City) vs. Hull City
5 of 10
Swansea City look set to secure a top-half finish this season following a 3-1 home win over Hull City on Saturday.
Bafetimbi Gomis got his name on the scoresheet twice, the first of which was a sensational acrobatic overhead kick.
This is the first time the Frenchman has scored in two successive games since coming to Wales at the start of the season, per the BBC.
5. Mariano (Real Madrid Castilla) vs. Conquense
6 of 10Real Madrid's B team earned a 2-0 win at Conquense on Saturday, the highlight of which was a stunning volley from Mariano.
If this strike is any indication, the 21-year-old Dominican striker might just be a name to look out for in the future.
4. Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd) vs. Aston Villa
7 of 10
Manchester United took another step toward a return to Champions League football on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
Wayne Rooney bagged his 12th league goal of the season in style when he teed himself up for a wonderful volley in the 79th minute.
3. Mauricio Pinilla (Atalanta) vs. Torino
8 of 10Atalanta's quest to put some distance between themselves and the Serie A drop zone failed on Saturday when they crashed 2-1 at home to Torino.
However, the Goddesses found solace in their consolation goal, which came from a terrific overhead kick by Mauricio Pinilla.
2. Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) vs. Newcastle
9 of 10
Eyebrows were raised when Jermain Defoe was brought to Sunderland during the January transfer window, but the 32-year-old may have earned his wages for the season with a stunning volley that won the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday.
Shortly before the break at the Stadium of Light, Defoe beat Tim Krul with a sensational first-time hit. In any normal week, this would have topped our golazo rankings, but something special happened at Stamford Bridge…
1. Charlie Adam (Stoke City) vs. Chelsea
10 of 10
Chelsea consolidated their lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Stoke City on Saturday, but the show was well and truly stolen by Stoke's Charlie Adam.
The Potters midfielder spotted Thibaut Courtois off his line and managed to send a perfect 65-yard shot over the Belgian's head and into the net.
It was easily a candidate for goal of the season, while BBC pundit Alan Shearer said it was the best long-range goal he had ever seen in the Premier League.
