Great Grounds of Asia: West | Football News |
Kuala Lumpur: West Asia has some of the finest stadiums in the Continent, with these venues regularly playing host to AFC Asian Cup, AFC Champions League and AFC Cup matches.
Kuala Lumpur: While Asian football fans await the return of the beautiful game, there remains plenty to keep us occupied during its hiatus and nothing more so that than looking back on the fabulous goals we've seen over the years.
Following on from last week's acrobatic AFC Champions League goals, next up in the-AFC.com's '5 of the Best' series we recall five solo goals where players have taken matters into their own hands and produced the goods in emphatic style.
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Hulk – Shanghai SIPG
vs Urawa Red Diamonds, March 15, 2017
Hulk has made a career out of scoring spectacular goals and Urawa Red Diamonds felt the full force, quite literally, of the big Brazilian when the pair clashed at Shanghai Stadium in the 2017 group stage.
The forward displayed two of his greatest attributes – brute strength and great technical ability – to hold off and then burst through the Urawa backline before firing low past Shusake Nishikawa with what was the decisive goal in a 3-2 win.
Chanathip Songkrasin – Muangthong United
vs Brisbane Roar, April 26, 2017
While in terms of physical stature, Chanathip Songkrasin may be the polar opposite to Hulk, the Thai starlet is equally adept at evading opponents, as he displayed by gliding past the Brisbane Roar defence in 2017.
Hosts Muangthong United were a goal up when Chanathip received the ball in a seemingly non-threatening position. Six touches later and it was in the back of the net after he skipped past two defenders, rounded the 'keeper and tapped home.
Denis Laktionov – Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
vs Al Ittihad, November 24, 2004
We take you all the way back to the 2004 final for the next entry, which sees Denis Laktionov collect the ball by the half-way line, before bursting past his first two challengers, getting a fortuitous break off another and then cutting inside a fourth.
There was still plenty to do when the Russian closed in on goal, but he rifled the ball in off the crossbar to stun the Jeddah crowd. Seongnam won 3-1 but an unbelievable 5-0 second-leg defeat means the final remains more remembered for Al Ittihad's comeback than Laktionov's solo effort.
Abdulmajeed Al Swat – Al Taawoun
vs Lokomotiv, April 25, 2017
Another incredible goal from the 2017 group stage saw Al Taawoun's Abdulmajeed Al Swat open the scoring against Lokomotiv after running half the length of the pitch before slotting home.
Picking the ball up just inside his own half, the Saudi midfielder held off the initial challenge, danced past three more defenders and delivered a composed low finish into the bottom corner for the opening goal of a 4-4 draw.
Edgar Silva – Buriram United
vs Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, May 8, 2018
Appearing in the knockout rounds for only the second time, Buriram United produced one of their finest AFC Champions League performances by defeating Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3-2 in the first leg of the 2018 Round of 16.
Brazilian Edgar Silva stole the headlines, putting his side 3-1 up, with a combination of speed and skill taking him from his own half to 15 yards from the Jeonbuk goal before he tucked the ball into the bottom corner. Buriram may have won on the night but they ultimately exited 4-3 on aggregate.
Vote for your favourite goal below (Poll ends at 1600 (UTC 8) on April 3).
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