At #92 in the Top 100 Goals of the Decade countdown is Ryan Babel’s excellent piece of skill in a 6-0 thrashing of Derby County at Anfield in the 2007-2008 season.
It was a promising start to his Liverpool career for Babel, one that has sadly been blighted by inconsistency both in his performance and in his spot in the team. But on this sunny day at Anfield against Derby County, Babel showed Liverpudlians just what he was made of with a lovely taken goal. Up 1-0 at the time, Alvaro Arbeloa had charged into the Derby penalty box and spotted Babel in “the D.” Babel approached the ball as if to hit it first time with his left foot, but it was just a dummy and he shifted the ball to his right. In the process, two Derby defenders bit the bait and slid to block the shot. All Ryan then had to do was take a touch and smack the ball into the net from 15 yards out. He still had plenty to do, though, and he completely wrong-footed the keeper has he surprisingly went to the far post side netting with his shot for his first LFC goal. What a way to start!
Liverpool went on to win the match 6-0, but this goal was certainly the one to stand out. In this first season for Babel, he scored 11 goals and had given himself every opportunity to star for the Reds. Unfortunately, his lack of defensive quality and tactical nous meant that the likes of Albert Riera and Yossi Benayoun were being selected ahead of him during the 2008-2009 season, and that has continued even further into the 2009-2010 campaign despite less competition due to injuries. His progress, one could say, has been hampered by a combination of these factors and with the “part of the package” that comes with being a “raw” talent. He has all the ability in the world, but combining that with structure and organization just hasn’t turned out… like it did for Thierry Henry, whom he had been compared with at the beginning of his Liverpool career. All of that said, he is still quite capable of pulling out a goal or two out of the blue, and this is just one of several that you’ll see on this list.
Why #92?
This goal certainly deserves to be on here, merely for the way the two Derby defenders fell at his dummy. Had it been further out, or against a team that didn’t finish with the Premiership’s all-time worst points tally, it could have been ranked higher… but those factors DO matter and they do influence where it falls on this list. His touch, and finish, were sublime, however, thus leading to a tidy 92nd on the list. To watch the goal, look at minute marker 0:26 on the video below!
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Babel needs to start more games? Europa league anyone???