There is no sight in football quite like seeing an overhead kick bulge in the back of the net. It takes a certain type of audacity for a player to even attempt a shot like that, never mind pulling it off, when they go in, even the opposition supporters have been known to applaud a moment of pure genius.
Alejandro Garnacho’s incredible bicycle kick in a 3-0 win for Manchester United over Everton in 2023 is a goal that will live long in the memory and will almost certainly go down as one of the best goals in Premier League history. But is it the best overhead kick goal of all time? There have been some truly incredible bicycle kicks over the years and, after careful consideration, here are the 18 finest overhead kicks.
Ranking factors
The way these goals have been ranked is based on several factors:
- The technical skill of the strike
- How difficult it was getting to that position
- How much work the scorer himself has to do
- The connection made with the ball
- How far out from the goal the scorer was
- How important the goal was
A lot of this will come down to the technique involved in the actual action of the bicycle motion, but also how much work the scorer has had to do to get in the position to strike it in the first place, both of which can depend on the delivery of the pass. Goals in which the forward himself has had to work to set himself up will earn bonus points, but one could argue that means they had more time to think about what they’re going to do and more time to prepare for it.
Other factors include how far the striker is from the goal as well as how significant the strike was. So now that it is all clear on how this ranking is going to work, let’s dive straight in and enjoy some beautiful goals.
18Tim Cahill
Vs Chelsea (2007)
Everton cult hero Tim Cahill was best remembered for his headed goals during his eight years in the Premier League, but he did also have a tendency for the spectacular, as shown in the 2014 World Cup when he scored a ferocious volley for Australia in their group match against the Netherlands. However, he also pulled off a tremendous bicycle kick goal during his time with the Toffees.
With his side trailing 1-0 at Stamford Bridge with just two minutes remaining, his Scottish teammate James McFadden fizzed in a cross from the right which Cahill was able to cushion up on his thigh before thumping the ball over his head and past Carlo Cudicini, securing Everton a valuable equaliser. The attacking midfielder then proceeded to do his trademark celebration of punching the corner flag.
17Rory Delap
Vs Tottenham Hotspur (2004)
Similarly to Cahill, Rory Delap also garnered a reputation in the Premier League thanks to a particular aspect of his game. His long throw-ins for Stoke City caused chaos in the opposition’s penalty area during the Potters’ first-ever Premier League campaign in 2008/09, but the midfielder was also capable of a stupendous, acrobatic effort.
He proved this in a match against Tottenham Hotspur in 2004 when he was playing for Southampton. Claus Lundekvam tried to lift in a cross which was deflected up into the air, but the defender was able to win the aerial duel and head it across the box for Delap to position himself underneath it and fire it past Kasey Keller into the Spurs net, for the game’s only goal.
16Stan Collymore
Vs Leeds United (2000)
Stan Collymore became the most expensive player in British football when Liverpool paid £8.5m to sign the forward in October 1995, but by the time he arrived at Bradford City on a free transfer five years later, his career had been derailed quite considerably due to several incidents of ill-discipline. His signing was seen as something of a last throw of the dice from a struggling Bantams side, but it looked like a stroke of genius when he scored a brilliant goal 21 minutes into his debut just three days later.
A hopeful cross was sent in from the byline by Benito Carbone and Collymore had to back-pedal to meet it, but meet it he did and with a superb overhead kick into the bottom corner. The fact the goal was against Bradford’s arch-rivals Leeds United made it all the sweeter, but that would prove to be as good as it got for the forward at Valley Parade as the club were forced to sell him after just ten weeks due to his high wages.
15Christian Benteke
Vs Manchester United (2015)
Christian Benteke was another striker that Liverpool would fork out a lot of money to sign. He didn’t quite have the desired impact at Anfield that supporters would have hoped for when he arrived for £32.5m, but he did score an absolute firecracker against their deadly rivals Manchester United.
With the Reds 2-0 down, a cross was sent in from the right which United’s Daley Blind was able to somewhat flick away from goal, but the big Belgian forward was able to re-position himself and caught the shot perfectly, and it flew past David de Gea into the net. Unfortunately for Benteke, it would prove to be a mere consolation in a 3-1 defeat for Liverpool that is better remembered by Anthony Martial’s well-taken goal on his United debut, which sealed the win for his new club.
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14Peter Crouch
Vs Galatasaray (2006)
A second consecutive entry into this list for a Liverpool forward, this time from the most agile 6ft 7in striker the Premier League has ever seen. Peter Crouch, or Two-Metre Peter as he was fondly nicknamed during his time on Merseyside, is one of the Premier League’s most prolific goalscorers, but it was an acrobatic effort in the Champions League that makes it onto this list.
In a group stage match against Galatasaray, Crouch had already scored once in the first half and the Reds were in a comfortable 2-0 lead when the forward pulled off this moment of brilliance in the 52nd minute. Steve Finnan made great ground down the right flank and set in a terrific cross to the far post, which Crouch was able to meet with a ferocious overhead kick that left the Galatasaray keeper rooted to the spot and got the whole Kop out of their seats in adulation.
13Eidur Gudjohnsen
Vs Leeds United (2003)
Icelandic forward Eidur Gudjohnsen’s time in the Premier League is pretty underrated and while he was never really the star during his six years with Chelsea, he was certainly a reliable source of goals and none were more spectacular than his goal against Leeds United in January 2003.
Frank Lampard sent in a deep, out-swinging cross from the right and an unmarked Gudjohnsen was able to adjust himself to meet it with a clean bicycle kick, which bounced into the bottom corner of Paul Robinson’s goal, giving Chelsea the lead in a match they would end up winning 3-2.
12Dimitar Berbatov
Vs Liverpool (2010)
There’s been one goal from a Manchester United-Liverpool fixture already on this list, but this one was even more special for multiple reasons. Firstly, it was a goal scored as part of a win for Man United, and it was also the second of three goals scored by Dimitar Berbatov that game, as he became the first United player in 64 years to score a hat-trick against the Reds.
The Bulgarian was known for his almost effortless skills with the ball – not to mention his silky first touch – but this was arguably his greatest Premier League goal as he controlled Nani’s rather weak cross from the right by cushioning it on his thigh before pulling off a terrific overhead kick that went in via the crossbar. There are perhaps better techniques lower on this list, but the combination of the occasion and Berbatov having to generate the power in the strike himself earns it a spot at no.12.
11Andy Carroll
Vs Crystal Palace (2017)
On 12th January, 2017, West Ham supporters were left shaken by the news that their best player Dimitri Payet had told manager Slaven Bilic that he no longer wanted to play for the Hammers and instead wanted to return to Marseille. Two days later, the Frenchman was left out of the matchday squad completely for a home clash against Crystal Palace.
A crestfallen crowd at the London Stadium needed something to cheer them up, and they certainly got it with a resounding 3-0 victory, including a wonder strike from Andy Carroll, as he nearly took the net off with a thunderous overhead kick at the back post.
10Marco van Basten
Vs Den Bosch (1986)
Marco van Basten is regarded as arguably one of the greatest strikers in football history and his outrageous volley for Holland versus the Soviet Union in the 1988 Euro final is also widely considered one of the best goals ever scored.
However, the Dutchman also scored a sublime overhead kick at Ajax in 1986. A high cross was floated in from the right and van Basten peeled away from two defenders and swung his body into the air, meeting the ball with the sweetest connection and sending it soaring right into the top corner of the goal past the Den Bosch ‘keeper, who didn’t even bother moving.
9Trevor Sinclair
Vs Barnsley (1997)
In January 1997, QPR played out a thrilling FA Cup Fourth Round match with Barnsley and the West London outfit emerged as 3-2 winners thanks to a moment of pure footballing genius from a young Trevor Sinclair. A deep, hopeful cross was sent in from the right, but it was so awry that the ball wasn’t even going to enter the penalty area.
That was no problem for Sinclair, who was in the right position to meet the ball with an outstanding overhead kick that had enough power on it to fly over the Barnsley goalie and into the back of the net, despite the attacker being outside the box at the time.
8Wayne Rooney
Vs Manchester City (2011)
There will be people truly staggered that this goal is coming in so low on this list and those people do have a point. Let’s not forget, this overhead kick was the winner in a crucial Manchester derby that came at the end of a long-running saga that seemed like it was going to end with Rooney joining Man City. It even won the official Premier League’s Best Goal of the first 20 seasons of the competition.
However, it was said at the start that technique was being prioritised above all else and the fact is that the striker shinned it. So, despite Rooney having to adjust to Nani’s deflected cross to score an overhead kick and win a Manchester derby, this goal only comes in eighth place on our list.
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7Emre Can
Vs Watford (2017)
This is the third entry into this list from a Liverpool player and easily the best one. Emre Can was hardly a prolific goalscorer during his time at Anfield, but his overhead kick in May 2017 was magnificent. This goal was pretty unique based on the fact that the German midfielder was actually making a run into the Watford penalty area when the ball was delivered to him.
As a result, he only had a split second to adjust his body to be in the right place, so he could meet the ball with a perfect bicycle kick that flew past Hornets’ goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. It would prove to be the only goal in a crucial win for Liverpool’s top-four aspirations.
6Philippe Mexes
Vs Anderlecht (2012)
This one earns a lot of bonus points based on the fact that Philippe Mexes was a defender, who only scored seven goals during five years with AC Milan. In an important Champions League group stage match away at Anderlecht, a poor free-kick was floated in from Riccardo Montolivo but Mexes made the most of it.
After having to double back to meet the ball on the edge of the area, the Frenchman took the ball on his chest with his back to goal before sending a bicycle kick over his head that looped its way over the keeper and into the goal. Mexes’ memorable goal from out of nowhere helped the Italian giants win 3-1 and secure a place in the knockout stages of the tournament.
5Rivaldo
Vs Valencia (2001)
This is easily one of the most extraordinary stories on the list. On the final day of a difficult 2000/01 season, Barcelona had to beat Valencia at the Camp Nou to leapfrog Los Ches and secure a place in the Champions League in the following season and Rivaldo seemed to be a one-man mission to make that happen. He scored two outrageous long-range efforts in the first half, but everything the Brazilian threw at Valencia, they seemed to have an answer for and with three minutes left, the scoreline was 2-2, which wasn’t enough for Barca.
However, Rivaldo had one last trick up his sleeve. Frank de Boer lofted the ball to the forward, who was standing on the edge of the Valencia box and he chested up into the air with his back to goal before smacking a powerful bicycle kick into the bottom corner and sending the Camp Nou into delirium.
4Alejandro Garnacho
Vs Everton (2023)
Ever since it was mentioned in the intro, you must have been wondering when this goal was going to come up, and it’s one of the best overhead kick goals ever. It came just three minutes into Man United’s trip to face Everton, who were still recovering from a 10-point deduction for breaching Profit and Sustainability rules and were making their feelings of distaste towards the Premier League known in a vociferous fashion.
But the Argentinian went a long way to shutting Goodison up with a truly remarkable overhead kick as he doubled back to meet Diogo Dalot’s fizzed cross and met it perfectly to send it flying into the top corner of Jordan Pickford’s goal. It’s the best overhead kick the Premier League has ever seen.
3Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Vs England (2012)
In a truly bizarre international friendly that saw England debuts handed to the likes of Steven Caulker, Ryan Shawcross, Carl Jenkinson and even Wilfried Zaha, who would later declare for Ivory Coast, it was a Swede who stole the show. Zlatan Ibrahimovic had already bagged a hat-trick by the time he capped off an imperious performance with a truly fantastic goal.
A long ball pumped down the pitch had brought goalkeeper Joe Hart out to try and clear but, being outside of his area, he could only win a weak header which nevertheless went over Ibrahimovic. However, that posed no problems for the forward, who re-adjusted his body and struck an overhead kick from all of 25 yards out which made it in, despite a desperate lunge from Shawcross.
2Cristiano Ronaldo
Vs Juventus (2018)
Cristiano Ronaldo is often featured in football rankings and has probably now got used to coming second in them. His overhead kick against Juventus in the Champions League quarter-final in April 2018 was truly outrageous for several reasons, but remarkably, it wasn’t even the best goal of that kind scored by a Real Madrid player during that particular European campaign. But more on that later. This goal from the Portuguese superstar was a true example of just how expertly the forward can read the game.
Dani Carvajal received the ball outside the area on the right-hand side of the pitch and drove for the by-line before he was ambushed by Alex Sandro and was forced to hoist in a tepid cross. Ronaldo immediately reached the spot where the ball was going to drop and before the Juventus defenders couldn’t even react, he flung himself into the area and met the ball with a perfectly executed bicycle kick. The pictures that emerged after the game showing the forward completely horizontal and around six feet in the air left us mere mortals questioning just how on earth he managed to do that.
1Gareth Bale
Vs Liverpool (2018)
Just six weeks later, after Ronaldo’s stunning goal, teammate Gareth Bale scored a similarly sublime overhead kick, and due to the occasion being a Champions League final, that one just about edges it as number one on our list. The score was locked at 1-1 between Real Madrid and Liverpool with just under half an hour left to play when Marcelo delivered a hopeful cross from the left.
The ball sent in was behind Bale, who instinctively thrust his body into the air so he could meet it with a spectacular bicycle kick that flew past a helpless Loris Karius into the back of the goal. The Welshman would score again later in the match, as Los Blancos wrapped up their 13th Champions League title.
