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.

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