Wayne Rooney. Alejandro Garnacho. Dean Ashton.
The Premier League has seen some truly stunning overhead kick goals, with West Ham cult hero Ashton producing one of the best in modern times.
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With the Hammers trailing 3-0 to Manchester United after just 26 minutes in May 2008, the one-cap England international stunned the Old Trafford crowd.
Just moments after Carlos Tevez got on the score sheet, defender Wes Brown failed to properly clear away a cross into the box, leading the ball to loop into the air.
Ashton then used his physicality to shrug off Rio Ferdinand, before firing home in the top left corner in acrobatic fashion from the penalty spot.
Edwin van der Sar could do nothing but watch the ball fly into the back of the net, with the United fans quick to applaud the emphatic finish.
And it wasn’t just the Red Devils faithful that were left wowed by the strike, as Cristiano Ronaldo quickly gave his seal of approval to the ex-Norwich forward.
Speaking to talkSPORT.com about his goal, Ashton said: “The main thing is, I remember getting back towards the halfway line and Ronaldo was just looking at me.
“He just gave me a wink and I thought, ‘Yeah, I’ll take that’.
“Most of their players were like, ‘Fair play’, sadly Fergie [Sir Alex Ferguson] didn’t say anything.
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“But he has said some kind things in the past about me as a player, so I’ll take that.
“I think scoring against his side probably wasn’t what he wanted.”
Cristiano Ronaldo furiously reacts to fan throwing water balloon at Al Nassr players after goal
West Ham eventually lost 4-1 at the Theatre of Dreams that afternoon, with Ronaldo on target twice.
They were two of 42 goals the Portugal international scored that season, where he helped United win the Premier League and Champions League.
And Ashton has recalled how he and the rest of West Ham’s attack were laughing at his side’s defenders for having to deal with him.
He remarked: “I remember playing that game at Old Trafford and they had Ronaldo, [Wayne] Rooney and Tevez as their front three.
“It was unreal, arguably one of the best front three’s Manchester United have ever had.
“And he was just starting to come into the peak of his powers.
“What was better for us forwards was us listening and taking the mick out of our own defenders for having to face Ronaldo.
“Obviously as players of course you’re trying your best, you’re being professional, but at the same time, you can recognise an unbelievable talent.
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“And so we did rip some of the players that were up against him.”
Ronaldo’s remarkable 2007/08 campaign saw him win the Ballon d’Or – the first of his five awards.
He would spend just one more year at United before joining Real Madrid for a then-world record fee of £80million.
In contrast, Ashton was forced to retire just months after Ronaldo’s transfer at the age of 26 due to repeated ankle injuries.
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