Strasbourg's Martial Godo is going viral for fascinating pre-match eye routine before scoring

Martial Godo was spotted performing eye exercises in his pre-match warm-up ahead of Strasbourg's 5-1 win over Auxerre - and the fascinating footage is going viral.

Strasbourg smashed five goals past Auxerre on Sunday as goals from Godo, Dario Essugo, Conrad Harder and Gessime Yassine (2) secured a 5-1 win.

It was a memorable afternoon for Godo, who netted his first goal of the season after performing a series of eye exercises ahead of kick-off in a bid to sharpen and activate his vision.

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Martial Godo explains why he performs eye exercises before a game

As seen in the footage below, the former Dartford and Fulham winger moved his fingers in front of his face while shifting his gaze between different points and repeatedly closing one eye.

Research suggests this can sharpen awareness and help you process your surroundings with more efficiency.

Speaking in his post-match interview, Godo explained his methods. “As an attacker, I like to do visualisation before the match," he said. "It puts me in the conditions of reality.”

The use of eye exercises are becoming more common in football. Patrícia Rodrigues, an optometrist and sports vision specialist who has worked at Aston Villa, Tottenham and Leeds, recently touched on the subject.

According to Alexandre Carvalho, Patrícia observed that six weeks of visual training improved part of their visuomotor abilities.

"For a striker, that means reading the defender a fraction of a second earlier," he added.

"The key point: a player doesn't react to what's happening, he reacts to what he perceives. And visual information intake is trained just like the physical side: ball tracking, peripheral vision, processing speed."

Several high-profile players have used eye exercises, including Trent Alexander-Arnold

Godo isn't the only player to have incorporated eye exercises and visual training into his preparation. Recently, Wout Weghorst was seen performing similar exercises by holding up his fingers to sharpen awareness.

Real Madrid's Trent Alexander-Arnold has also made an effort in that regard. The former Liverpool defender undertook a six-week programme with ophthalmologist Dr Daniel Laby that involved eye patches, peripheral-vision drills and virtual reality exercises.

They were designed to improve his ability to identify passing options.

Speaking about the benefits of the exercises, Alexander-Arnold explained: "If I can see the whole pitch and I can see every option available, then I can make the right decision at all times."

He added: "My vision isn’t an aspect I’ve worked on before. I don’t think anyone in football has fully, so it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up."