Stoke City: Clutch moment v Chelsea followed Liverpool transfer agreement | OneFootball

Oussama Assaidi is remembered fondly by the Potters for one brilliant last-gasp goal

The phrase 'never fall in love with a loan player' is often used in football to infer that a loanee has massively exceeded expectations at their temporary club, but while one Stoke City loan man failed to consistently hit the heights in his time in ST4, it was one magic moment that set him apart from most with the Potters.

Stoke headed into the 2013/14 season with renewed optimism under new boss Mark Hughes, as the Welshman came with a clear change in style from Tony Pulis, and made a number of changes to his squad in the summer transfer window as a result.

Out went the old guard of Rory Delap, Dean Whitehead and Mamady Sidibe, with the likes of Marc Muniesa, Erik Pieters and Marko Arnautovic all signed from overseas.

Hughes went down the domestic route with his loanees, as Stephen Ireland came in from Aston Villa, and Moroccan winger Oussama Assaidi joined for the season from Liverpool, after he had failed to make an impact in his first season with the Reds.

Assaidi was a lightning quick wide man, with the ability to beat a man and deliver a cross, or find the net from a long-range strike, which he did on more than one occasion for the Potters.

His time in the Potteries was extended over an 18-month period, and while he never nailed down a consistent starting berth under Hughes, he is still fondly remembered nearly 11 years on to the day by Stoke fans for a certain goal that he scored in one of the club's most famous wins in their recent history.

Oussama Assaidi's last-gasp Chelsea winner made him a Stoke City cult-hero

Assaidi's form at Heerenveen in the Eredivisie had prompted Liverpool to sign him for £2.4 million in 2012, but he struggled to break through to their regular starting line-up, and made just four league outings in his debut season on Merseyside before Stoke took him on loan in August 2013.

He started slowly at the bet365 Stadium, with mainly substitute appearances in the first few months of the season, but soon came into favour with Hughes ahead of Arnautovic as he was handed his first run of starts in November.

The Moroccan international was never the most regular scorer throughout his career, but his best spell was arguably at Stoke, and his most notable moment was his first goal for the club, which was a brilliant effort to seal a late win against Chelsea in early December.

Stoke headed into the match-up at ST4 on a run of just one win in 11 games, with Hughes' job under real pressure after he had been trusted to take the reins and succeed the well-loved Tony Pulis in the Potters' dugout.

Mourinho's Chelsea travelled north in second place in the Premier League, with just two league losses up to that point, and soon took the lead through Andre Schurrle inside the first 10 minutes as Stoke looked to be facing yet another defeat.

Hughes' side did battle back to make it 1-1 through Peter Crouch, then fellow loanee Stephen Ireland made it 2-1 just five minutes into the second-half, but the Blues did not back down as Schurrle bagged his brace just two minutes later to level the scores once again.

Stoke were soon hanging on as they faced wave after wave of Chelsea attack from the likes of Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba, but a rare Potters foray forward as injury time beckoned saw Assaidi pick the ball up on the left side of the final third after Ireland had threaded him through.

The left-winger still had a lot to do as he stood up Branislav Ivanovic with no passing option on, but quickly cut onto his right foot and fired an emphatic winner past Petr Cech to make it 3–2 and send the bet365 Stadium into pandemonium.

Assaidi's celebrations mirrored those in the stands as he ripped his shirt off and ran towards his teammates in the Stoke dugout, while Mourinho stood solemnly just a few yards away, and duly gave the Moroccan a pat on the back as he walked back toward his seat.

His momentous goal sealed Stoke's first league win over Chelsea since the 1974/75 season, and was described by boss Hughes as "absolutely outstanding," as an almost speechless Assaidi insisted that he was "very happy" to have bagged his first Premier League goal in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

Oussama Assaidi failed to reach similar heights at Stoke after his Chelsea strike

While he was certainly not expected to score worldies each week in the Premier League, Assaidi's impact after his goal against the Blues was a lot less than expected due to his clear ability and pedigree from his time with Liverpool.

He went on to net three goals in just 13 more league appearances that term, amid knee injury issues and a loss of form, but the Potters did move to bring him back to North Staffordshire in the summer of 2014, as Hughes admitted that he would like to sign him on a permanent basis, but another loan deal was sorted after the clubs failed to agree on a price.

Assaidi only featured nine times in the top-flight in the 2014/15 campaign, with just one start and one assist to his name before Liverpool cancelled his second loan in January 2015, and sold him to UAE Arabian Gulf League side Al-Ahli Dubai.

It was a pretty low-key end to his time in the Potteries, which had promised so much after his first league goal was one of the club's biggest highlights of recent times, and the left-winger never did return to English football as he ended his career at FC Twente in 2019 at just 31-years-old.

Assaidi's loan spell as a whole was certainly not one that saw him pull up many trees throughout his time at the club, or earn a bigger move or even a place in Liverpool's squad, but his brilliant goal against Chelsea was the one moment he needed to write himself into Stoke folklore forever, and the mention of his name will always bring back memories of that famous win.