Liverpool fan won £25k after Xabi Alonso's iconic goal v Luton | OneFootball

Throughout his career, Xabi Alonso became known for his incredible work in midfield but wasn't one for scoring too often. That doesn't mean he couldn't, though, and he is actually responsible for not just one, but two unbelievable goals from inside his own half and they both came during his time at Liverpool.

On January 7 2006, the future Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder scored the first of his two halfway-line goals that would come to be fondly remembered by Liverpool fans whenever they reminisce on his time at Anfield. Yes, Alonso scored a truly stupendous Premier League goal against Newcastle United from his own half, but it was his 70-yard stunner at Kenilworth Road that came first, and it was the icing on the cake of a fantastic affair that was the perfect demonstration of one of football's greatest knockout tournaments.

The Reds were getting their FA Cup campaign underway with a visit to the Championship side in the third round and proceeded to play out an entertaining 5-3 encounter. After Steven Gerrard had fired the Premier League favourites into an early lead, goals from Steve Howard, Stephen Robinson and Kevin Nicholls sensationally saw Luton gain a 3-1 advantage.

However, there was still plenty of fight left in the reigning champions of Europe as Florent Sinama Pongolle goals either side of an Alonso strike saw Liverpool re-establish a 4-3 lead. And with the scores remaining that way going into stoppage time, Luton decided to roll the dice and push forward with goalkeeper Marlon Beresford marauding deep into the Liverpool half. As such, the chance was there for Liverpool to counterattack and snatch one more goal with the Luton net unoccupied, which is exactly what Alonso managed to do as he scored for the second time on that most chaotic of nights in Bedfordshire.

Rather than explain the strike any further, let's just take a look at it below. Not only was it a fantastic way to close out the match, but it kickstarted Liverpool's FA Cup campaign in electrifying fashion. It's quite poetic that they went on to win the entire competition later that year, beating West Ham United in the final.

It was the perfect way to cap off a truly memorable match between the two clubs. Luton had given it a real good go, but the Reds were just too much for them on the day, coming back from 3-1 down. No one could have predicted the result, and they certainly couldn't have predicted the goal in which Alonso sealed the result. Or, so we thought.

One fan won £25,000 due to the goal

Punter placed bet on Alonso scoring a goal in that manner after dream

It turns out someone could have predicted Alonso's goal, and actually did so months in advance. What you might not remember about Alonso's screamer, as we look back at it 18 years later, is the fan who won big because they'd dreamt that it would happen. Yeah, seriously. As we celebrate the anniversary of Alonso's unforgettable strike, we couldn't help recalling the remarkable story of supporter Adrian Hayward that saw him bag an astonishing £25,000.

According to a contemporary report from the BBC, Mr Hayward of Newbury, Berkshire, pocketed the handsome sum having dreamt that Alonso would score from his own half that season. In a story that feels as though it's been ripped right from the pages of a Harry Potter novel, Mr Hayward dreamt in July that Alonso would pull off the rare footballing feat, so he went and placed £200 on a bet that said the Liverpool man would indeed produce the goods at some point during the 2005/06 season with odds as high as 125/1. Some juicy stuff.

And obviously, when Alonso found the net from jaw-dropping range against Luton, it not only meant that Mr Hayward's dream had come true, but that he won the bet as a consequence. Mr Hayward spoke after the fact, explaining why he placed the bet, but also how he felt when he saw the midfielder score the goal.

The then 42-year-old, a father of two, said that he might spend some of the winnings on a family holiday. He placed the bet with Paddy Power and, never one to shy away from publicity, they released a statement themselves, reacting to the moment.

The whole situation just goes to show that dreams can sometimes, quite literally, come true. We can only imagine how he spent his winnings and, hopefully, he had another dream later that year and placed another bet on Alonso repeating the feat the very next year. Just nine months after scoring against Luton and netting this lucky pundit £25,000, the Spaniard did it again, this time in the Premier League against Newcastle United.

That game finished 2-0, and the midfielder again sealed the result with the final goal coming from his strike from inside his own half. This time, though, he didn't catch the opposition keeper coming forward for a corner. This time, he simply managed to catch him off of his line and poor Steve Harper was caught scrambling back towards his line, failing to keep it out.

Considering just how good his Bayer Leverkusen side is looking right now, it's safe to say that Alonso might be an even better manager than he was a player, even with the two halfway line goals.