It just had to be Zlatan Ibrahimovic! Manchester United’s towering Swede ended his goal drought against Swansea City in fine fashion by etching his name in the Premier League history books with the 25,000th goal of the era. Just 25 goals away, the milestone was inching closer at the start of the 11th game week.
Statistically, the season so far has produced 270 goals at an average of 27 goals per week, so it was widely expected that one of the final games of the weekend would produce the landmark goal. A thrilling five-goal encounter between Burnley and Crystal Palace and Chelsea’s thumping 5-0 win over Everton brought the tally closer on Saturday.
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Liverpool’s masterclass performance against Watford, running alongside the game between Manchester United and Swansea, produced a flurry of goals but Manchester United and their striker won the race to the milestone.
Rooney was the architect as he collected the ball on the left wing, before cutting inside and threading a pass to Ibrahimovic. Skipping past Ki’s challenge, the striker drove the ball into the bottom corner past Fabianski. Eventually, United won the match 3-1, courtesy of a Pogba goal and another Ibrahimovic strike.
Jose Mourinho would have been delighted with the result after a much-maligned run of form. Also, club captain Wayne Rooney stepped up and gave a commendable performance in the match.
Although the season started out on a fantastic note for the Swede, it had taken a drastic dip in form, much like United themselves but the goal now imprints Ibrahimovic's name in the Premier League record books. Additionally, his second goal on the night brought his entire club career total to 400 goals, a fantastic feat in roughly 17 magnificent years.
The first ever goal scored in the Premier League era is attributed to Brian Deane of Sheffield United in their 2-1 win against Manchester United on August 15th, 1992. Just 10 days later, Manchester United legend Eric Cantona, then plying his trade at arch rivals Leeds United scored the 100th goal. Later in the season, the 1000th goal was smashed in by Mike Newell of Blackburn Rovers.
The footballer turned commentator Andy Townsend is credited with notching the 5000th goal with Aston Villa in 1996. Half a decade later, in the year 2001, Tottenham legend Les Ferdinand crashed home number 10,000. Number 15,000 was scored by Fulham’s Moritz Volz against London rivals, Chelsea while Aston Villa was once again involved when Marc Albrighton brought home goal number 20,000 in 2001.
The Swedish star might not have lit up the Premier League the way we hoped he would, but he certainly will be leaving his name around regardless of his remaining tenure in Manchester.
