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Top goals of 2016: Best volley, team goal, long-range strike, and more

Reuters

Breaking them down by category - including a couple unconventional classifications - we look at the goals that made our jaw drop in 2016.

Best solo goal: Saul Niguez

Yes, Dimitri Payet's winding run against Middlesbrough was stunning, but it was aided by some hilariously inept defending. Saul Niguez, meanwhile, slalomed through some of the best defenders on the planet before curling a peach of a strike around the best shot-stopper alive. He wins.

Best team goal: Las Palmas

One-two. Flying backheel flick. Thunderous scissor kick. Las Palmas and Kevin-Prince Boateng showcase it all. Hook this goal to my veins.

Best free-kick: Mohd Faiz Subri

The laws of physics don't apply here; footballs aren't supposed to make sharp right turns in midair like that.

Best counter-attack goal: Juventus

Alvaro Morata and Juan Cuadrado go end to end, taking out a handful of Bayern Munich defenders along the way with a mixture of pace, power, technique, and calm finishing. A gorgeous counter-attack.

Best 'Beast Mode' goal: Romelu Lukaku

Get. Off. Me. Romelu Lukaku tosses a pair of Chelsea defenders aside like rag dolls before leaving Gary Cahill with his pants down, scoring a goal that combines all of his best attributes into one breathtaking move.

Best volley: Thomas Meunier

Easily the most difficult category from which to pick just one tally, we'll go with Thomas Meunier's slicing volley for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Even taking away the fact that it was a 90th-minute winner, the technique to strike the ball across his body like that, and still get it into the top corner, is sublime.

Best bicycle kick: Javi Gomez

Meet Javi Gomez, a 34-year-old striker who has never played above the second division of Spanish football, and who was scandalously overlooked in the Puskas Award balloting after scoring this outrageous 30-yard bicycle kick while playing for third-division side UD Socuellamos in April.

Best acrobatic effort: Moussa Sow

Both bicycle and scissor kicks are athletically impressive - and there were plenty to choose from in 2016 - but there's something patently ridiculous about Moussa Sow doing that while basically standing still.

Best Euro 2016 goal: Xherdan Shaqiri

With Euro 2016 taking centre stage in the football world this year, it's only fair that we take a moment to commemorate the most fantastic tally of the tournament, courtesy of diminutive Swiss powerhouse Xherdan Shaqiri.

Best backheel goal: Dmytro Ulyanov

Ukrainian dude scoring a flying scorpion kick? Ukrainian dude scoring a flying scorpion kick! This goal is plenty wild on its own, but Dmytro Ulyanov being a defender makes it even more ridiculous. The Avanhard Kramatorsk coaching staff should consider a position change for the 23-year-old.

Best long-range goal: Juan Cazares

Golazo, indeed. Atletico Mineiro midfielder Juan Cazares channelled his inner Xabi Alonso to score this absurd goal from inside his own half in December. It's as if time stands still as we wait to watch the ball come down.

Best 'FIFA Street' goal: Mesut Ozil

Mesut Ozil scored the goal you always dream about on the playground, putting three Ludogorets players - including the goalkeeper - on a poster. Patience and elegance personified.

Most audacious goal: Diego Perotti

Whether he actually meant to do this, he'll likely never admit, but we'll give Diego Perotti the benefit of the doubt, simply because this Rabona was so scrumptious. His neck tattoo is still awful, though.

Best record-breaking goal: Lionel Messi

He scores so many of them, it was inevitable that Lionel Messi would find his way onto this list. What better way to break Gabriel Batistuta's all-time scoring record for Argentina than with this blistering free-kick that was so good, it beat American goalkeeper Brad Guzan at the post he was covering.

Most dramatic stunner: Oscarine Masuluke

Look, Eder's goal for Portugal in the Euro 2016 final was more dramatic given the circumstances, but nobody is taking this one away from Oscarine Masuluke, the South African goalkeeper who scored a 96th-minute bicycle kick to level a match for Baroka FC. Even his celebration was better.

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