{"id":20635,"date":"2026-07-23T19:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=20635"},"modified":"2026-07-23T19:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:09:09","slug":"mateus-fernandes-best-ever-goal-and-10-other-pre-season-worldies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=20635","title":{"rendered":"Mateus Fernandes&#8217; best-ever goal and 10 other pre-season worldies&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div><!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p>On his Tottenham Hotspur debut, Mateus Fernandes joined some huge names and a lad who once played for Paderborn in scoring pre-season worldies you shouldn\u2019t miss\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fernandes reckons his strike against MK Dons was the best goal of his career. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sadly for Fernandes, it isn\u2019t even the best volley on this list. We also have backheels, chips, halfway-liners, volleys from the halfway line\u2026<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy, in no particular order, these jaw-dropping moments of friendlies madness.<\/p>\n<h2>Mateus Fernandes for Tottenham x MK Dons, 2026<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cIt was my favourite goal of my career. By a mile,\u201d said Fernandes. \u201cThis just gives me confidence for the rest of the days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s how a sweetly-struck volley can make you feel, even in a training-ground friendly. There are some that say the biggest buzz is holding their new-born child for the first time but we doubt they\u2019ve ever rattled a first-timer in the top corner.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p>\ud83d\udc40 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9fryLJZdLd\">pic.twitter.com\/9fryLJZdLd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u0280\u028d (@RM_THFC) July 22, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2><strong>Andreas Pereira for Manchester United v Brentford, 2021<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The last thing Andreas Pereira did in a Manchester United short was arguably his finest moment. Such a shame it was wasted on a pre-season friendly against Brentford\u2026<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p>Pereira goal vs Brentford (2-1) #mufc <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UlKJmitr6f\">pic.twitter.com\/UlKJmitr6f<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 United Goals \u26bd\ufe0f (@UnitedGoals__) July 28, 2021<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Really, after tw*tting in a ripsnorter from 30 yards in front of the Stretford End, Pereira should\u2019ve continued running and headed straight down the tunnel all the way to Flamengo.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Yossi Benayoun for Chelsea v Wycombe, 2011<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Another one off the training ground\u2026 literally.<\/p>\n<p>Which is a shame because Benayoun\u2019s magic deserves a far wider audience than one man and his dog and Cobham. It also warranted a far grander description than \u2018this cheeky finish just crossing the line\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>If Benayoun did that at a sold-out Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea TV anchorman would have been reaching for the Kleenex. And that would be the appropriate response.<\/p>\n<p>Another interesting facet to the video: John Terry at least trying look like he\u2019s listening to Andre Villas-Boas.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Yossi Benayoun vs Wycombe 12\/07\/11\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kOTZGcsZnVw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Thierry Henry for Arsenal v Weiz, 2004<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Similarly, it\u2019s a shame only 2,500 were present to witness this Henry filth\u2026<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p>Throwback to Thierry Henry\u2019s stunning goal against Weiz in a pre-season game in 2005 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AcsiXa19PV\">pic.twitter.com\/AcsiXa19PV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Throwback Arsenal (@ThrowbackAFC) April 14, 2020<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This was only the three minutes into a 5-0 win for Arsenal, which is awful early to be sending his defender for the papers.<\/p>\n<p>And the finish\u2026 never has a goalkeeper tried so hard while remaining so far from reaching a ball.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Oscar Rodriguez for Real Madrid v Man City, 2017<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As a Real Madrid player, you probably shouldn\u2019t really celebrate pre-season goals. You certainly shouldn\u2019t celebrate consolation goals when you\u2019re 4-0 down in the 90th minute.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019ll allow Rodriguez this indulgence since it was the one single thing he did in a Real shirt. The midfielder managed a single Copa del Rey appearance before being sold to Sevilla.<\/p>\n<p>The ball rebounding back way, way out of the net and the \u2018clang\u2019 off the goal frame also adds to its unique appeal.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">That time Real Madrid&#8217;s Oscar Rodriguez scored an absolute worldie against Man City\u2026 \ud83d\ude32 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Tq5JBKtrMz\">pic.twitter.com\/Tq5JBKtrMz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 GOAL (@goal) July 17, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2><strong>Marcel Ngjeng for Paderborn v Bolton, 2015<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe best goal I\u2019ve ever seen in my life,\u201d was how Bolton boss Neil Lennon described this piece of ridiculousness from Ngjeng for the Bundesliga 2 side in their 4-1 win over the Trotters.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"HIGHLIGHTS | SC Paderborn 4-1 Bolton\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UG542RdyFxM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Normally, with any goal scored from the centre circle, one of the first reactions is to question the goalkeeper\u2019s choice of lead boots. But there is literally nothing that Ben Amos could have done to prevent one of the sweetest volleys you are ever likely to see from a lad who\u2019d just been released by Hertha Berlin.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Harry Kane for Tottenham at Juventus, 2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This was a more traditional halfway-line hit, if there is such a thing. A friendly, yes, but to chip an Arsenal goalkeeper in added-time to beat Juve makes this \u201cone of my best\u201d according to Kane. And <strong>there have been bloody loads<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p>\ud83d\udcc5 Four years ago today, Harry Kane scored THAT goal against Juventus from the halfway line. \ud83e\udd75<\/p>\n<p>Former Arsenal keeper Szczesny did not enjoy that\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/u82lKVdgb8\">pic.twitter.com\/u82lKVdgb8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Football Tweet \u26bd\uea00 (@Footballtweet) July 21, 2023<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2><strong>Xherdan Shaqiri for Liverpool v Man Utd, 2018<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>This isn\u2019t even the best bicycle kick Shaqiri has scored. Compared to <strong>his stunner for Switzerland at the Euros<\/strong>this was a mere tap-in\u2026<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Every Angle: Shaqiri&amp;apos;s Incredible Bicycle Kick | Pre-Season 18-19\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q-khaFrsaxo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s still a thing of wonder. And if there\u2019s a perfect way to introduce yourself to Liverpool fans as a new signing, it must surely be scoring an overhead kick in a 4-1 win against Man Utd, even if <strong>Pereira bagged a beauty in that game too<\/strong>. The pre-season Pirlo indeed.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Filippo Inzaghi for AC Milan v Barcelona, \u200b\u200b2010<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If you were wondering where before you\u2019d seen<strong> <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Copa90\/status\/1120265987079725056\" target=\"_blank\">Robin van Persie\u2019s incredible for Man Utd against Villa in 2013<\/a><\/strong>it would be here, with Clarence Seedorf in the Wayne Rooney role\u2026<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Barcelona vs AC Milan Gamper Trophy 25.08.2010 Inzaghi goal\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-OqpRpfatac?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Ruud van Nistelrooy for Manchester United v Juventus, 2003<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Juan Veron and Ruud van Nistelrooy teaming up for Fergie at Man Utd should have been a link-up for the ages. Alas, we saw moments like this, against Juve in New York in 2003, all too fleetingly\u2026<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Juventus v Manchester United | Bend it Like Giggs | Pre-Season Friendly | July 2003\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/A5vHRvVGNLM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Stevan Jovetic for Inter Milan v Real Salt Lake, 2016<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If Inter were playing in Serie A and drawing 1-1 in added-time, would Jovetic have done this? We doubt it, which is why pre-season friendlies, when they aren\u2019t a waste of time, are bloody brilliant.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\n<p>Backheel. Nutmeg. Match Winner.<\/p>\n<p>Stevan Joveti\u0107 goal for Inter v Real Salt Lake few hours ago.Filthy! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pU3DiOHBNz\">pic.twitter.com\/pU3DiOHBNz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Thick Accent Official (@Thick_Accent) July 20, 2016<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><!-- Article End --><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script>\n        !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n        {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n        n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n        if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n        n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n        t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);\n        s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n        'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n        fbq('init', '1399787394855675');\n        fbq('track', 'PageView');\n    <\/script><script>\n        !function(e,n,t){var o=e.getElementsByTagName(n)(0);e.getElementById\n    <\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On his Tottenham Hotspur debut, Mateus Fernandes joined some huge names and a lad who&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}