2026 Puskás Award Already Decided After Insane Champions League Strike
The goal was scored during the final night of the Champions League league phase.
Featured Image Credit: TNT Sports
Topics: Champions League, Football
Luke Davies
Topics: Champions League, Football
Fans think a Puskas Award contender was scored during the final night of the 2025/26 Champions League league phase.
With six Premier League sides – Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle, and Manchester City – as well as European giants Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Inter, Real Madrid, and Barcelona all in action during Champions League game week eight, it’s fair to say very few fans will have tuned into Pafos and Slavia Prague’s dead-rubber match at the Alphamega Stadium in Kolossi, Cyprus.
But those who did were treated to a first-half wonder goal which some have described as being worthy of the 2026 Puskas award despite being just one month into the year.
Sixteen minutes into the clash, with the score 0-0, 26-year-old Romanian midfielder Vlad Dragomir received the ball in space around 30 yards from goal.
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And instead of looking for a teammate to build an attack, he had one thought in his mind and that was to have a pop at Jindřich Staněk’s goal.
The Pafos man, who had not scored in this year’s Champions League before tonight, unleashed a powerful left-footed strike which left Slavia’s keeper with no chance as it nestled into the net, making it 1-0 to the Cypriot outfit.
Fans were quick to offer their thoughts on social media.
One said: “Wow, that’s got to win the Puskas.”
Another added: “Best goal of the night sealed.”
A third claimed: “Vlad Dragomir, that is OUTRAGEOUS. Goal of the night COMFIRMED.”
While a fourth commented: “That is OUT OF THIS WORLD from the Pafos midfielder.”
A fifth exclaimed: “OH MY WORD THAT PAFOS GOAL IS ABSOLUTELY MENTAL.”
Unfortunately, the wonder strike was cancelled out on 44 minutes when Slavia’s Štěpán Chaloupek made it 1-1.
Pafos are currently third in the Cypriot top-flight having won the title in 2024/25.
And tonight's strike was the not first time Dragomir has netted this term with the Romanian also scoring four times in the Cypriot First Division during the 2025/26 campaign.