You have your wonder goals, your GOAT goals, your Puskas-worthy goals – goals scored with such athleticism and finesse that you cannot help but appreciate them in awe.
On the other side of the spectrum, however, you have your freak goals. Goals so bizarre and strange you contemplate how on earth the ball managed to end up in the back of the net in such a fashion, or if the laws of physics suddenly stopped for approximately five seconds every other Premier League weekend matchday to allow for these goal flukes,
Goal has rounded up some of the best 'freak' goals over the years.
Darren Bent vs Liverpool, 2009
Ah, the infamous beach ball incident goal. The cruel irony of this goal is that it was at the fault of a Liverpool fan who somehow thought it would be a funny idea to throw a beach ball onto the pitch of the Stadium of Light. Pepe Reina looked to have been comfortable saving Bent's shot, only for the forward's effort to be hit by the beach ball – eventually diverting the effort into goal.
Referee Mike Jones allowed the goal to stand, giving Sunderland all three points against the Reds.
Divock Origi vs Everton, 2018
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Boy, did Liverpool get lucky with this goal (perhaps this was the luckiest goal ever scored, given the circumstances?). The Reds were heading towards a 0-0 draw at home to crosstown rivals Everton, with the result a disappointing stalemate for both sides.
But in what looked like a last-ditch effort in stoppage-time, Virgil van Dijk hoofed the ball into the direction of the Everton goal, before turning away in disgust after he had misfired. Hapless Jordan Pickford, however, made an absolute meal of gathering the ball, eventually dropping it onto the top of the crossbar and leaving it for Divock Origi to head smoothly into the net, breaking Toffees' hearts everywhere.
Stan Collymore vs Blackburn Rovers, 1996
Newer Premier League fans will not be able to appreciate the quality of modern football pitches compared to those back in the day, which roughly resembled a Sunday League pitch.
Against Blackburn, Liverpool forward Collymore fired the ball from inside the Blackburn half and shot towards goal, though it did not look to be the cleanest of strikes.
It seemed to be an easy job for England international Tim Flowers to take care of – he even has his hands ready and outstretched – but thanks to the torn-up pitch, the ball took a cruel bounce on a rogue mound of dirt and flew high over his shoulder and to the net.
Tim Howard vs Bolton, 2012
Goalkeepers providing assists is one thing, but goalkeepers scoring goals is another. Adam Bogdan would be forgiven for blaming the wind when he conceded a rather spectacular effort from opposition goalkeeper Tim Howard back in 2012.
Sylvan Distin's back pass made Everton's Howard make a rushed clearance, forcing him to sky the ball, which ultimately catches the wind, beating the outfield Bolton players and bouncing just outside of the box before landing in Bogdan's net.
Howard, to his credit, felt bad for the goal, stating after the game: "For our goal I was disappointed from a goalkeepers' union standpoint. You never want to see that happen. It's not nice, it's embarrassing, so I felt for Adam but you have to move on from it."
Dion Dublin vs Newcastle, 1997
Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given made sure to look to his left and right after picking up a ball from a high cross when taking on Coventry City, but crucially not behind him where a lone Dublin was lurking.
Given placed the ball in front of him for a goal-kick but was unaware of the lurking England striker, who managed to scoop the ball from under the goalkeeper's eyes and net it smoothly into the Newcastle goal.
Jason Cundy vs Ipswich, 1992
For someone known for his robust tackles, it was only fitting that Cundy's most famous goal came by way of an attempt at a challenge.
In Cundy's effort to clear the ball, he took a tumble – and, with the help of the wind, the power of his kick and a whole lot of luck, saw his attempt fly over Ipswich goalkeeper Craig Forrest and straight into the net.
Michail Antonio vs Southampton, 2015
West Ham winger Antonio is not known as being the most gifted player the Premier League has ever seen. But his iconic strike against Southampton, scored through a combination of all four of his thrashing limbs, was a mess in anyone's book.
Antonio starts by running into the Southampton box pretty confidently, before taking a tumble after tripping on his own feet. He nosedives straight into the ground, where he heads into a cluster of Southampton defenders, only for the ball to somehow ricochet off of the melee of players.
It definitely gets a touch off of Antonio's head, which is on the ground, before bouncing into the net and past the goalkeeper. Antonio has absolutely no idea of what just happened, but celebrates accordingly.
Paul Robinson vs Watford, 2007
To be fair, theis goal came from a miscommunication between the Watford defenders.
Tottenham goalkeeper Paul Robinson took a massive free-kick from his own area that somehow bested England team-mate Ben Foster, taking an unfortunate bounce before finding itself in the net. Foster could do nothing about it, and could only watch on as his side went on to lose 3-1 at White Hart Lane.
Peter Enckelman vs Birmingham, 2002
The fact that this goal should never really have stood just adds to its bizarreness – not to mention that it happened during a particularly fiery derby game between Aston Villa and Birmingham.
Olof Mellberg's throw-in looked to have been routine, until it was horrendously misjudged by Villa goalkeeper Enckelmen. The ball grazed his boot slightly and he could only watch in horror as it dribbled into the net, piling onto Villa's woes that saw them ultimately lose the game 3-0.
Gareth Bale vs Liverpool, 2012
Probably one of the funniest goals ever scored. Bale scored for both Tottenham and Liverpool during this game, netting an own goal against his side by virtue of his face.
Steven Gerrard took a shot on goal from Jonjo Shelvey's corner, only for it to be cleared by a Tottenham defender as far as Bale's face just a couple of feet from the net. It ricochets comically into the goal, as if straight from a pinball game. Poor Bale.
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