Category: Football

On July 16, 2024, less than 48 hours after England were beaten in a second successful European Championship final, Gareth Southgate announced his resignation as manager, bringing to an end his eight-year tenure at the helm of the Three Lions. A late winner by second-half substitute Mikel Oyarzabal, four minutes from time, consigned England to a 2-1 defeat – actually their first in 14 Euro final matches under Southgate – by Spain at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, extending the quest for their first major tournament success since 1966 beyond 58 years.

As a player, Southgate won 57 caps for England, but will always be best remembered, unfairly, for missing a crucial penalty against Germany in the semi-final of Euro 96, ironically at the pre-renovation Olympiastadion. With the match tied 1-1 after extra time and the penalty shootout tied 6-6, and into the sudden death phase, he saw his weak, side-footed effort saved by goalkeeper Andreas Köpke and German captain Andreas Möller converted the next spot-kick to eliminate England 7-6.

Nevertheless, Southgate, 54, had worked at the Football Association since 2011. Aside from his 57 caps as a player, he took charge of the England men’s under-21 team for 37 games and the men’s senior team on 102 games (of which he won 61, drew 24 and lost 17), making a total of 196 games in which he was involed with the national team, one way or another. Southgate was originally appointed manager of the senior team on a temporary, caretaker basis in September 2016, but went on to take charge of more games than anyone bar Walter Winterbottom and Sir Alf Ramsey.

The Premier League superseded the First Division of the English Football League (EFL) as the top tier of football in England in 1992. Since then, at the time of writing, six goalkeepers have scored in Premier League matches.

On February 21, 2004, Brad Friedel scored a last-minute equaliser for Blackburn Rovers against Charlton, only to concede a goal in stoppage time and lose the match 3-2. Three years later, on March 17, 2007, Paul Robinson scored for Tottenham Hotspur from fully 80 yards in a 3-1 win over Watford at White Hart Lane and, on January 4, 2012, Tim Howard scored for Everton from inside his own area with a bizarre, wind-assisted clearance that bounced over Bolton Wanderers’ goalkeeper Adam Bognan.

The following year, on November 13, 2013, Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic opened the scoring after just 13 seconds of a Premier League clash with Southampton, with another windswept effort that bounced over opposite number Artur Boruc and, in fact, was officially registered by Guinness World Records. Last, but by no means least, on May 16, 2021, Alisson Becker scored a dramatic late winner for Liverpool against West Bromwich Albion, having come up for a corner deep into stoppage time.

The first goalkeeper to score in the Premier League, though, was former Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel, not during his halcyon days with the Red Devils but, rather, on his return to England, after a two-year hiatus, with Aston Villa during the 2001/02 campaign. On October 20, 2001, with his side trailing 3-1 to Everton at Goodison Park, Schmeichel came up for a corner in stoppage time and scored what turned out to be just a consolation goal for the visitors, courtesy of a powerful right-footed volley from close range.

Former centre-forward represented England at under-20 and under-21 level and played for Team GB, under Stuart Pearce, at the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, he retired in July 2019, at the relatively young age of 28 having struggled with depression and, at one point, attempted suicide. At the time of his retirement, Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough said, “We are sure Marvin has a massive amount to contribute in helping people with their mental wellbeing and we look forward to seeing all that he achieves in the future.”

Born in Pinner, northwest London, on February 17, 1991, Sordell played youth football for Fulham between 2004 and 2007 and for Watford between 2007 and 2009. He made his professional debut for the Hornets, in the Championship, during the 2009/10, which also included a brief loan spell with Tranmere Rovers in League One.

After scoring at a rate of one goal every three games in 81 appearances for Watford, Sordell was transferred, for £3.6 million, to Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League on January 31, 2012. However, he made just three Premier League appearances for the Trotters, who were relegated at the end of the season, and subsequently the whole of the 2013/14 season on loan to Championship rivals Charlton Athletic.

At the end of his that loan spell, Sordell joined newly-promoted Burnley, back in the Premier League, albeit for a reduced transfer fee of £630,000. He made 14 Premier League appearances for the Clarets, mainly from the bench, but his contract was cancelled on September 1, 2015. The uncoveted record that he holds is that of having made the most appearances in the Premier League, 17, without ever being on the winning side.

At the time of writing, no team has scored ten or more goals in a Premier League match, but four teams have scored nine goals and one them has the distinction of having done so twice. That team, Manchester United, also became the first to do so when, on March 4, 1995, they routed Ipswich Town 9-0 at Old Trafford. In the absence of Eric Cantona, suspended after “kung fu” kicking a Crystal Palace fan on January 25, Andew Cole, signed from Newcastle United that same month, scored five goals and was joined on the scoresheet by striking partner Mark Hughes, with a brace, and Roy Keane and Paul Ince, with a goal apiece.

The Red Devils equalled their own, by then joint, record scoreline 26 years later against Southampton at Old Trafford on February 2, 2021, in a match played behind closed doors. Seven different United players found the net, including second-half half substitute Anthony Martial, who scored twice, and Saints’ centre-back Jan Bednarek put through his own goal after 34 minutes to add to the ignominy.

That was, in fact, the second time that Southampton had been drubbed 9-0 in the Premier League, having previously done so against Leicester City at St. Mary’s Stadium on October 25, 2019. Ayoze Pérez Gutiérrez and Jamie Vardy both scored hat-tricks for the visitors on that occasion. Before that, Tottenham Hotspur beat Wigan Athletic 9-1 at White Hart Lane on November 22, 2009, with Jermaine Defoe scoring five goals. More recently, Liverpool equalled the record for the biggest victory in Premier League history with a 9-0 demolition of newly-promoted Bournemouth at Anfield on August 27, 2022.