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Iconic David Beckham free-kick ranks as football fans' favourite goal from last 25 years

As the second half of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign begins, a total of 618 goals have been scored so far across the 20 teams this season, amounting to over 25,000 goals since 1998 in England’s top flight.

LiveScore, founded in 1998 and celebrating its 25th anniversary, has revealed the goals scored over the last quarter century which held the most significance to football fans.

The data comes from LiveScore’s upcoming Evolution of Fan report, which surveyed nearly 25,000 LiveScore users and outlines the changing face of football fandom in line with the development of technology. One section of the report has been published today and reveals the goals which mattered most to fans over the last 25 years.

David Beckham’s famous freekick against Greece at Old Trafford in 2001, which saw England through to the FIFA World Cup 2002 in South Korea and Japan, has been voted as the ‘People’s Goal’, securing 28% of the votes via the multiple-choice selection.

Beckham’s signature strike came out ahead of Wayne Rooney’s iconic bicycle kick against Manchester City in 2011 (20%), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s UEFA Champions League last-gasp winner in 1999 (19.8%) and Sergio Aguero’s iconic title-winning goal in 2012 (19.5%).

Making up the top eight for fans’ favourite goals were Gareth Bale’s volley vs. Liverpool in 2018 (16%), Cristiano Ronaldo’slong-range effort in Porto (15%), Thierry Henry’s 2004 solo strike vs. Liverpool (14%) and Dennis Bergkamp’s turn and finish at St. James’ Park in 2002 (14%).

Also on the list was Zinedine Zidane’s left footed volley vs. Bayer Leverkusen (13%) and Wayne Rooney’s volley vs Newcastle United (13%).

The full list of goals will be published alongside a vast array of data from the last 25 years in LiveScore’s upcoming Evolution of Fan report early this year

Ric Leask, Marketing Director at LiveScore Group, said: “This section of the Evolution of Fan report is packed full of iconic goals that we all know and love. LiveScore has tracked and recorded them all over the years, so it’s fascinating to learn which goal fans consider to be most important to them over the last 25 years.

“We’re hugely excited for the launch of our Evolution of Fan report, which tells the story of football fandom over the last quarter century, while celebrating 25 years of LiveScore being at the heart of the fan experience.”

PA