Lobs are the respectful way of humiliating a goalkeeper. They are like the more socially-acceptable version of the Panenka.
This is probably because executing one, especially one delivered from outside the box, requires all the cunning of the Panenka, but a great deal more skill and panache.
Goran Pandev's finish was cruel to Hellas Verona, a side in 19th place and six points off safety in Serie A. The northern Italy side were chasing the game for a draw before the 34-year-old's delicious chip sealed their defeat in stoppage time.
Pandev strides forward from the pitch's centre, ever-increasingly stuttering his body in a motion that suggests he's about to unleash a cannonball. The defenders scramble, in two minds: should theey to stick to their man or close-down the Macedonian bearing down on goal?
In their indecisiveness, their unorgainsation and displacement, Verona inadventertanly clear a path for Pandev's imminent shot.
Nearing the box, he does an Ali Shuffle. Goalkeeper Marco Silvestri is poised, ready, but then Pandev does the unfathomable, something even the flinching crowd behind the goal could not have imagined.
The veteran attacker delicately scoops the ball with his left foot over the defence and past Marco Silvestri, who watches the ball sail above his head and behind him. The ball bounces before curling and cushioning onto the net.
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it's not possible that Pandev pulled off that trajectory, that he managed to manipulate a football to rise up and then down across such a short distance - and yet footage shows that he somehow did.
If you open your dictionary to 'icing on the cake' you'll see this goal by Goran Pandev..
It's another to add to collection of GIF-tastic goals, ones you can click back on the slider to re-watch again and again and again. We can't wait for more.
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Topics: Football News, Football, Serie A, genoa
