• Ten players have scored dramatic goals far beyond normal time 

  • One incredible game led to two last-gasp spot-kicks 

  • Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt converted the latest ever penalty in English football


We may kid ourselves that we go to football games to appreciate the artistry but truly it’s in the hope of celebrating a last-gasp meaningful goal.

Latest Premier League Goals:

  1. Dirk Kuyt (Arsenal vs Liverpool - April 2011)

  2. Juan Mata (Chelsea vs Norwich - August 2011)

  3. Bruno Fernandes (Brighton vs Man United - September 2020)

  4. Yakubu (Wigan vs Blackburn - November 2011)

  5. Che Adams (Bournemouth vs Southampton - July 2020)

  6. John Terry (Chelsea vs Everton - January 2016)

  7. Jesse Lingard (Leicester vs Man United - July 2020)

  8. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal vs Burnley - January 2017)

  9. Junior Stanislas (Bournemouth vs Everton - November 2015)

  10. Robin van Persie (Arsenal vs Liverpool - April 2011)

To lose ourselves in a sea of limbs. To cheer all over again when the referee blows the final whistle almost straight away.

Imagine how it felt for these players then, for scoring the ten latest goals in Premier League history.

10) Robin Van Persie - 97:10

Back in 2011 the Gunners went into an April clash with Liverpool needing a win to keep their title hopes alive. The visitors meanwhile had other ideas, remaining solid and well-organised and always looking to counter.

So it was that a game of high-stakes chess played out, the swapping of pawns interrupted in the second half because of a serious injury to Jamie Carragher.

That resulted in eons of added-on time and just when the Manchester United players watching on television were rubbing their hands at the dropped points Cesc Fabregas was fouled and up stepped Van Persie.

With mere moments left on the clock Arsenal had done it. Or had they? Hold that thought…

9) Junior Stanislas - 97:13

Had a scriptwriter penned the frenetic and unbelievable finish at Dean Court in November 2015, as Bournemouth twice came back from the dead to grab a 3-3 draw against Everton, they might well have been advised to tone it down a little.

With ten minutes to go, the Cherries were two behind but late goals by Adam Smith and Junior Stanislav brought them level. There was collective heartache then when Ross Barkley swept home a last-gasp 95th minute ‘winner’ for the Toffees.

A full three minutes later Stanislav rose to head home and Dean Court exploded.

8) Alexis Sanchez - 97:14

Arsenal were a goal up but a man down against Burnley in January 2017 when referee Jon Moss pointed to the spot in the 93rd minute for a foul on Ashley Barnes. So strongly did Arsene Wenger protest that he was sent to the stands.

At such a late juncture the betting markets would have surely had this down as a draw but to the Gunners’ immense credit they responded to the hammer-blow well, continuing to probe.

In the game’s last knockings Sanchez blasted home yet another pen, this one fatal.

7) Jesse Lingard - 97:30

A mischievous fixture schedule pitted United away at Leicester on the final day of the 2019/20 season, with both sides needing a win to secure a Champions League berth.

It was the Reds who prevailed, with Fernandes scoring a pen midway through the second period and Lingard adding a second extremely late on.

Let’s not downplay the midfielder’s strike as mere confirmation though. For the player it ended a two-year goal-scoring drought and meant the world.

Premier League betting has United down as fourth favourites to win this season’s league crown.

6) John Terry - 97:53

A six-goal thriller at the Bridge in 2016 climaxed with a controversial last-gasp equaliser from Terry as Everton boss Roberto Martinez questioned where all the minutes of added-on time came from.

That bone of contention aside, this was the Chelsea captain’s 700th appearance in blue, with Terry regularly breaking Premier League records along the way. With a final tally of 41 goals no other centre-back was more prolific.

5) Che Adams - 97:56

In the Saints’ penultimate game of 2019/20, Adams wrapped up a fiercely fought South Coast derby with a coolly executed second mere moments after Bournemouth were denied a thrilling equaliser by VAR.

Though cruel on the home side, who now stared relegation in the face, it was the kind of grandstand finish a game of this stature always warrants.

4) Yakubu - 98:14

2011/12 was a very bad season for Blackburn Rovers. It began with the infamous fast-food advert on behalf of their sponsor that made them a laughing (chicken) stock. It ended in relegation after 11 years in the top-flight.

At least their Nigerian striker Yakubu gave them a moment to remember in November when he slotted home a late, late penalty to earn Rovers a precious point against their local rivals Wigan.

All-told it was a game that defied football odds, with high-drama and controversy ending in a 3-3 draw. Eventually.

3) Bruno Fernandes - 99:45

The Portuguese schemer converted a remarkable 12 spot-kicks in 2020/21 but none were as dramatic as this, a last-gasp winner early in the season at the Amex that broke Brighton hearts.

The Seagulls thought they have secured a stirring point courtesy of Solly Marsh’s 95th minute effort and that itself would have suitably wrapped up a game full of incident that saw Brighton hit the woodwork an incredible five times and score from a pen themselves in the first period.

An own goal however proved costly, as too a slice of Rashford brilliance. Then Fernandes struck in time added on to time added on.

2) Juan Mata - 100:03

A day to forget for Norwich keeper John Ruddy resulted in Mata sealing a comfortable win for the Blues on his debut.

First, a punched clearance from the Canaries stopper accidentally caught Didier Drogba flush in the face, leaving the striker motionless and in need of a breathing aid. After lengthy treatment the Ivorian left Stamford Bridge to concerned applause.

Ruddy then saw red after upending Ramires and this later gave sufficient space for the artful Spaniard to showcase his talents, including a curled effort at the death to make it 3-1.

1) Dirk Kuyt - 101:48

Remember Van Persie’s belated spot-kick earlier in the list? The 98th minute decider to keep the Gunners in the title race in 2011? The credits did not roll straight after.

Perhaps it is fitting that during a period of upheaval at Anfield – a time of Roy Hodgson and losing to Northampton in the cup - Liverpool should become embroiled in one of the most astonishing finales in Premier League history. A finale that essentially handed the title to Manchester United.

With the ref seemingly having forgotten about the concept of time-keeping Dirk Kuyt kept his nerve and slotted away the latest penalty kick English football has ever seen.

Premier League predictions tip Liverpool to challenge for silverware this term. If so, can we expect even more late drama?


*Credit for the main photo belongs to Scott Heppell / AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 11th August 2021

About the Author
By
Ste Tudor

Stephen Tudor is a freelance football writer and fantasy football enthusiast who only knows slightly less about the game than you do.

A contributor to FourFourTwo and Forbes, he is a Manchester City fan who was taken to Maine Road as a child because his grandad predicted they would one day be good.