1) Daniel Sturridge – Liverpool. 21st Minute, 1-0

Liverpool took on an Aston Villa team making waves early on in the Premier League with good performances against Chelsea and Arsenal before hosting Liverpool. While Aston Villa still can be proud of their work, it was Daniel Sturridge’s fantastic play that won Liverpool this match.

Team goals are fantastic, and buildup can be a thing of beauty. For most people, it’s an individual effort that makes a goal. It’s the slick feet, the great placement, and the amazing speed, that make a goal inspiring. In Sturridge’s goal against Aston Villa, we see not only some great team play but a superb individual effort.

What do all four of these screenshots have in common? They happen within a few seconds of each other. Four separate tackles by three different players, including two attacking players. This is how Liverpool won the ball on the buildup to Sturridge’s goal. Phillippe Coutinho starts it by turning Gabby Agbonlahor off the attack and forcing him to pass the over way (notice we’re at the halfway line). Iago Aspas further backs them up, and then Lucas Leiva eventually intercepts the pass, giving the Reds the possession. This is fantastic teamwork, in quick succession. Players dropped back, tightly tackled (mind you, no fouls were called), and got the ball to the right place for their defensive midfielder to effectively win the ball. This play alone is worth of top play status.

Fast forward a few seconds and here’s the product of Liverpool’s ball winning. Coutinho gets the ball down to Sturridge on the wing. Decision-making, like in every goal, is key here. Coutinho could have kept the ball and ran into nothing, but he gets it to his best playmaker. Sturridge places himself in great position to keep the ball alive, though. He’ll be the next one to have a decision to make.

I absolutely love this angle. We can actually see what Sturridge sees here. Option A – go left, cross it in to one of the two players circled in yellow. Option B – go right, try to spring a better pass. Sturridge knows full well his players are outnumbered, and his team just isn’t well equipped for crosses, so what does he do?

He goes right, but that decision isn’t why this goal is number one this week. He has the speed and agility on Jores Okore (who is in after a horrific defensive performance by Aston Villa against Chelsea last week). On the left, we see him getting away. On the right, we see him getting tackled by Okore. Many great strikers would fall and take the free kick. Sturridge stays up, continues on and looks for more play. This match is only 20 minutes played, and Sturridge is playing like he desperately needs a goal.

Sturridge lays the ball off, but doesn’t quit on the play. Here we see the ball ends up to Jose Enrique who has overlapped down the left. Coutinho and Sturridge made their way into the middle, and recognize the space they’re given in front of the box. Enrique does, too. Now the ball just needs to get there without getting intercepted.

Enrique does his job and delivers the pass. Coutinho has first option on it, and could easily settle it for a left footed shot. Instead, he again gets the ball to his best scorer and dummies the ball. This play is one of the best I’ve seen in awhile. It is both tactical and skillful, and aware. Coutinho knows where his partner is, and knows what to do.

The ball gets past him and the rest is up to Sturridge. One deke right around a defender, one deke around the goalkeeper, and the ball is in the back of the net. The finish is top notch, and can only be justified watching full speed in the GIF above.

Daniel Sturridge’s goal here is one to be remembered. The finish alone is something out of well-produced highlight reels. The overall teamwork shown by Liverpool here is fantastic. Within a space of a minute, five players have gotten involved in the buildup to a goal, and not just through Barcelona-esque passing. We see defending and tackling. We see overlaps, awareness, and commitment to the play. This week’s number one goal really wasn’t even a decision.