There was a thread on GG discussing goals from outside the box at the beginning of the season (actually, it was mostly an arguement about the fact that Huddlestone could hit a ball very hard, but generally at the keeper or into row Z) and the shared wisdom seemed to point to the fact that nobody in world football hit more than a couple from outside the area in a season.
After watching Bale's latest effort against Swansea at the weekend, it got me to thinking "He must have hit a good few"... And I've just found the stats. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you long distance Gareth... Leading goal scorer from outside the area in the top European leagues this season:
Bale, Tottenham 7
Messi, Barcelona 6
Inler, Napoli 5
Pirlo, Juventus 5
Lodi, Catania 5
Traore, Lorient 5
Alessandrini, Rennes 5
Suarez, Liverpool 5
After watching Bale's latest effort against Swansea at the weekend, it got me to thinking "He must have hit a good few"... And I've just found the stats. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you long distance Gareth... Leading goal scorer from outside the area in the top European leagues this season:
Bale, Tottenham 7
Messi, Barcelona 6
Inler, Napoli 5
Pirlo, Juventus 5
Lodi, Catania 5
Traore, Lorient 5
Alessandrini, Rennes 5
Suarez, Liverpool 5