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Alejandro Garnacho's overhead kick against Everton has been lauded as one of the very best in the history of football but how does it compare to some of the all-time greats scored by Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale?
Alejandro Garnacho stole the show for Manchester United in the 3-0 win away at Everton on Sunday with an early goal-of-the-season contender.
The 19-year-old scored after just three minutes, arching back to connect with Diogo Dalot's cross with an overhead kick to fire past Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal.
The incredible nature of the goal has led to several comparisons with many declaring it the best scissors kick they have ever seen, even above the classics scored by Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
That specific comparison is the point of this article, to rate each of these iconic goals based on parameters such as technical difficulty, aesthetic quality, importance of the goal and size of the occasion.
The above-listed parameters are why Zlatan Ibrahimovic's wonderful 30-yard overhead kick for Sweden against England in 2012 will only get an honourable mention as it happened in a friendly match in which the team was already leading.
So, let us take a closer look at the four selected goals in descending order of recency and end the debate once and for all between Alejandro Garnacho, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney's overhead kick goals.
Alejandro Garnacho
Garnacho's goal was the opener for Manchester United against Everton and it had everything, from the buildup to the actual goal and even the celebration.
Lindelof kickstarted the move with an accurate long-range cross-field pass to find Marcus Rashford out on the right wing who then found Diogo Dalot on the overlap.
Dalot then put in a cross which quite frankly wasn't great as it was too high for Anthony Martial and way behind Garnacho's initial position but the young Argentine displayed great IQ to anticipate the movement of the ball and take several steps back before connecting with that well-timed overhead kick into the corner of the net past Pickford.
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY - 5/5: Garnacho's goal as described was extremely difficult, it is from a slightly longer distance than the Rooney goal to which it has been compared and the 19-year-old had a bit more work to do in a bid to accomplish that.
AESTHETIC QUALITY - 5/5: Garnacho's goal looked so good and as a result, he's been getting Puskas Award shouts and rightly so. From the buildup to the finish, it looks really good.
IMPORTANCE OF THE GOAL - 3/5: Manchester United went on to win 3-0 so Garnacho's goal doesn't look as important in hindsight but it did set the tone for the result and changed the course of what could have potentially been a difficult afternoon had it not been for the early goal.
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SIZE OF THE OCCASION - 1/5: Unfortunately for Garnacho, his big moment came in a regular game. No one would remember a regular matchday 14 Premier League game between Everton and Manchester United.
TOTAL: 14/20
Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale enters into this conversation with an overhead banger on one of the grandest stages of all, the UEFA Champions League final.
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Real Madrid and Liverpool were tied at 1-1 in Kyiv, Ukraine when the Welshman pulled the surprise rabbit out of the hat in the 64th minute at the Olympic Stadium.
Marcelo put in a right-footed cross from the left which fell flat and behind Bale who had initially been facing the goal which meant the winger had to completely turn his body around to make the connection with his left foot and send the ball into the top corner.
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY - 5/5: Gareth Bale's goal was incredibly difficult to achieve as the cross was behind and lower than him and there was a lot of mental and physical adjustment required within seconds.
Even at that, it would have been easy to balloon the ball well over the bar because of Bale's height so the level of control he achieved to direct that ball into the top corner past Karius was phenomenal.
AESTHETIC QUALITY - 4/5: The best part of Bale's goal was the difficulty in the finish but it doesn't look as good as the three other goals on this list.
IMPORTANCE OF THE GOAL - 5/5: Of course the winning goal in a Champions League final is of utmost importance even though Bale went on to score one more to make it 3-1.
SIZE OF THE OCCASION - 5/5: As earlier stated, it doesn't get much bigger than a Champions League final, only a World Cup final compares.
TOTAL: 19/20
Cristiano Ronaldo
Perhaps the most popular of the four goals mostly because of the scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo who scored a stunning overhead kick for Real Madrid in the 2018 UEFA Champions League semi-final against Juventus.
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Ronaldo wrote his name all over the first leg at the Allianz Stadium in Turin where he scored the opener for Real Madrid after just three minutes but it was his second goal that lives long in the memory.
The Portuguese star took steps back towards the penalty spot and swung into the air to connect with Dani Carvajal's cross and deliver the iconic moment which was met by applause from the whole stadium, including the home fans.
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY - 4/5: Much like Garnacho and Bale, the ball was also behind Ronaldo but not that far behind and he was left all alone in the Juventus box. It was still pretty difficult, just not as hard to achieve as the other goals in this comparison.
AESTHETIC QUALITY - 5/5: Ronaldo's athleticism and the placement of the ball made it look beautiful, this goal has great aesthetic value which is why it is very fondly remembered.
IMPORTANCE OF THE GOAL - 3/5: That was the second goal in a 3-0 win which doesn't seem that important but considering Real Madrid only ended up winning the tie 4-3 on aggregate, then this is pretty important.
SIZE OF THE OCCASION - 4/5: It was a Champions League semi-final away at Juventus, one of the biggest clubs in the world. This was a big goal.
TOTAL: 16/20
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney enjoyed a legendary career littered with trophies and accolades all over but it is safe to say he is mostly remembered for this goal in the 2011 Manchester Derby at Old Trafford.
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Manchester City were only just emerging as a force in England and were matching United quite well at Old Trafford with the game tied at 1-1 when Rooney scored the stunning winner in the 78th minute.
Nani put in a cross from the right wing which took a slight deflection off Zabaleta and took it a little bit behind Rooney but the Englishman didn't have to take any steps back, he simply adjusted his body shape and scored one of the greatest goals in football history.
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY - 5/5: To adjust his body and kick a ball over his head into the top corner, beating Joe Hart who was the best goalkeeper in England at the time is an incredibly difficult skill.
AESTHETIC QUALITY - 5/5: Rooney's goal looked so good, from his body movement to the ball hitting the top corner, there is no questioning its aesthetic quality.
IMPORTANCE OF THE GOAL - 5/5: A late winning goal in the Manchester Derby as United went on to win the league is very important.
SIZE OF THE OCCASION - 2/5: As big as it seems now, 2011 was still in the early days of Manchester City as we know it now so the occasion wasn't as big as people remember it. Ultimately, it was a Matchweek 25 Premier League game.
TOTAL: 17/20
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