In quite possibly the most memorable away victory at Goodison Park of the decade, John Arne Riise’s “nail in the coffin” full-pitch-dribble goal gave us a 3-1 away win and earned himself yet another spot on the countdown at #95.
For a man who would become known at the club for his rockets, this goal is slightly out of the ordinary (although he did dribble the length of the pitch to score against Chelsea in the Community Shield… you’ll see that one later). In a match that finished 3-1, the highlight for many was Riise’s goal that ended any chance of an Everton fightback. Not many of us had heard of this Norwegian from Monaco, but pretty soon we were all singing his praises. It began against Bayern Munich in the Super Cup win, continued here against Everton, and then the praise exploded with “that goal” against United. But let’s talk about the Everton goal. It was simply stunning. Riise collected the ball from Murphy after sprinting from the back lines, and then proceded to make a mockery of the Everton right back as he found his way towards goal. The finish wasn’t brilliant, but it went in, and that is perhaps the only reason it doesn’t rank higher. The way he turned the Everton player inside out was the stuff of legend, and certainly went some way in endearing himself to the Anfield faithful.
Riise’s goal would spark a scoring spree in his first full season, which would finish with 8, in a career at the club that spanned from 2001 until 2008 and a total of 31 goals… most of which were struck hard with his left foot… a left foot that was celebrated not only by song (John… Arne Riise! I wanna know-oh-oh… how’d you score that goal?) but by anticipation anytime he stepped anywhere near the opposition’s penalty area. Sadly for Riise, an own goal against Chelsea and a torrid last season tarnished the memory of many supporters, but JHL remembers JAR for goals like this one against Everton and not for the OG’s in 2007-2008. Riise was, and always will be, one of my favorite Reds. And how could he not be? Turning someone inside out is always special, particularly when it leads to a goal, at this level, but even more so in a local derby like this.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/939824/john_arne_riise_goal_against_everton/
