VIDEO: Stunning Mkhitaryan flick seals Manchester United victory
Published December 27, 2016
Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave Manchester United fans a Boxing Day moment to savour in the 3-1 win over Sunderland, netting a superb backheel scissor-kick to crown an immensely profitable day for the Red Devils.
With 86 minutes on the clock, the summer signing somehow managed to propel Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s inconspicuous right-wing cross into the far corner of Jordan Pickford’s goal, sending Old Trafford into raptures.
The stunner capped a decent performance from Jose Mourinho’s sixth-placed side, with Daley Blind and Zlatan Ibrahimovic also getting on the scoresheet.
And after the match, Mkhitaryan suggested that the late effort was his best ever strike.
“That was the best goal I’ve ever scored,” he told MUTV. “I was very excited. The first thing I did was look at the assistant and I saw it was not ruled as offside so I just started to celebrate.
“I was expecting the ball to be in front of me and then I realised I was in front of it.
“As the ball was behind me, the only thing I could do was a backheel so I did that and I succeeded.”
Prompting widespread adulation on social media, the goal also drew praise from Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer, who praised the audacity of the attempt.
He said: Mkhitaryan’s goal was just outrageous. To even try that – we should be looking at that for the next six months, it was that good.”
With clips such as the one above sweeping the internet, we’ve got a feeling that the former Newcastle forward may well get his wish.
