Lovebitesandeveryfing said:Several people have mentioned the Beast's first, so I won't go on about it, except to say that, technically, that is one of the most difficult imaginable strikes to carry out successfully. Anybody who's played football at any level knows that.
But the second interests me even more, because it says something about the character of the man. Beautiful through ball from Dzeko (er, Dzeko and Negredo can't play together? is anybody still saying that?), and in fact, Negredo's first touch was poor. I thought he'd fluffed the chance, myself, but he put in that extra little bit of shift that makes the difference — by the way, his acceleration over eight to ten yards must be comparable to Sergio's in fact, that's not something that any of us quite realized at the start of the season — he gets to the ball first, doesn't hit it particularly well, because he's stretched, but it's a power goal, like the one against Liverpool. So the first is a masterpiece of technique, the second a masterpiece of power. This guy has to be the buy of the season in the PL, and arguably in Europe.
It didn't matter by then, but the last goal was an absolute peach. Having skied several shots which he really should have had on target, Edin finally connected perfectly, and when he does, there's nothing that any keeper in the world can do about it. But those two touches before it, taken with Edin's strike concluding the movement, make it perhaps the most superb goal of the game (and there were several): whoever put that ball through to Kolarov — was it Silva, I wasn't sure? — then Kolarov's cutback., then Edin's volley. When we play like that, we simply slice teams open. It reminds me of some of the moves of the 68-71 team, when they were absolutely on top form.
Yes, West Ham were weak. But they are professional footballers in the world's most difficult league, the PL. By definition, they are part of an elite that concerns a few hundred athletes at the most. And they were made to look like amateurs. We ran rings around them as Bayern ran rings around us in the Etihad game. How does that happen?? Does me head in at times. Anyway, say it to yourself one more time: at times this season, you are watching the sexiest football being produced in the PL, hands down.
Marcos Lopes! Wonderful ball it was too.