December’s Premier League Goal of the Month competition is just days away, and there is a clear frontrunner.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s scorpion kick against Sunderland had Match of the Day pundits calling for abolition of the offside rule whenever a goal is good enough.
Alexis Sánchez’s solo effort against West Ham – which runs the Armenian’s effort close – benefited from a similarly liberal application of the rule.
Jay Rodriguez also got in on the act, while Chelsea’s Pedro could well have another goal in the running after winning November’s award.
"It's an absolute belter!"
Enjoy @JayRodriguez9's Christmas cracker for #SaintsFC against #AFCB: https://t.co/T9n7hmWFqU
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) December 21, 2016
However, unless there are a whole host of stunning strikes between now and midnight on December 31, this month’s award won’t be a patch on the selection of goals in the running exactly 10 years ago.
Paul Scholes won Goal of the Month in December 2006 for his memorable volley against Aston Villa, proving that goals which go in off the underside of the bar are objectively better than all others, but he fought off some stiff competition to do so.
When David Bentley’s sensational 50-yard run and top corner strike probably doesn’t even break the top three, you know it’s been a big month.
We just feel sorry for then-Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard, beaten by two long-range stunners in the space of just over a week – not that he could have done anything to keep out the efforts from Matt Taylor and Didier Drogba.
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