The Best Last Minute Goals in Football

How many times have you watched your favourite team and favourite player beating the whistle and scoring a last minute goal? It’s not only about the victory, extra time, or advancing to the next round, but it’s more about the magic that hides behind the skills of such footballers and the euphoria that comes from celebrating the impossible.

Lots of patience, cold heart, composure, and skillfulness are required in order to score a goal when it’s needed the most. History recorded many spectacular goals just before the final whistle. Yet, there are some of them that I could single out as the best last minute goals in football, based on how important they were and how miraculously they were scored.

Man United vs Bayern (Sheringham and Solskjaer)

In 1999, we saw one of the most dramatic Champions League finals ever. Mario Basler scored early for Bayern. The Bavarians held tight and managed not to allow any goals until the 90th minute.

Then, just 30 seconds before the final whistle, United took a corner kick. The ball ended up in Giggs’ possession, who kicked it straight to Sheringham. The Englishman instinctively kicked it forward and scored a goal.

About less than one minute later, United had a chance to take another corner. Beckham placed the ball in the box, Sheringham got a header, and Solskjaer forwarded it into the goal. These two were one of the most amazing last minute goals in football history.

Chelsea vs Barcelona and Spain vs Netherlands (Andres Iniesta)

One of the best midfielders ever, Iniesta, scored not one, but two legendary last minute goals for Barca and Spain. In the Champions League 2009 semifinals, the Spaniard had a marvellous shot after he was assisted by Messi.

Chelsea’s goalkeeper was helpless as the ball went straight to the top right corner. Iniesta scored in the 93rd minute. This was the only goal, and it was enough to take Barcelona to the finals, as the first Barca vs Chelsea clash was goalless.

Another amazing goal by Iniesta that I wish to group under one of the best last minute goals in football was the extra time goal in the Spain vs Netherlands World Cup 2010 duel.

Torress tried passing the ball through, and it bumped into the Dutch defender. Fabregas took it and made an assist to Iniesta, who only needed one touch to score.

Man City vs QPR (Sergio Aguero)

Did you know that Man City won the first Premier League title after 44 years because of Aguero’s magic? Their fierce rivals, Man United, had the same number of points as them. It was the last match, and the Citizens had to win if they wanted to lift the trophy.

City faced QPR, who had the lead (2:1) up until the 92nd minute when Dzeko scored an equaliser. The next goal has to be one of the best last minute goals in Premier League. It was Aguero who was assisted by Balotelli and who put the ball behind QPR’s goalkeeper in the 94th minute, seconds before the final whistle.

Barcelona vs Real (Gareth Bale)

Bale’s form became even better after he joined Real Madrid. Football lovers do know that he terrorised goalkeepers while playing for Tottenham. But the strength, speed, and stability that the Welshman got in Real Madrid were unbelievable.

All of us could clearly see this after the Copa del Rey final in 2014, where Los Blancos played against Barca.

Bale took the ball, and, as Barcelona’s defender tried to use his strength to push him away from it, the Welshman put the ball forward, then sort of ran around the Barca’s player.

He kept moving with the speed of light and put the ball between Pinto’s legs. This was one of the most iconic last minute goals in football that brought Real Madrid the Cup trophy.

Liverpool vs West Ham (Steven Gerrard)

Steve G is arguably one of the most influential players in the history of football. He devoted his entire career to Liverpool FC. Besides scoring some last minute goals in Premier League for this team, the most special one was actually part of the English FA Cup.

It was just a matter of seconds before the referee would blow the final whistle. West Ham led by 3-2. Then the ball bounced off a West Ham player. As no one else could reach it, Gerrard approached the ball and launched a projectile towards West Ham’s goalkeeper, which he couldn’t stop.

Liverpool vs Arsenal (Michael Owen)

The amazing English striker, Michael Owen, was part of Liverpool’s team during the early 2000s. Owen was one of the best centre-forwards in the world at that time. It’s no wonder that he contributed so much to Liverpool FC winning the FA Cup 2001 trophy.

Arsenal took the lead in the middle of the game. Owen scored an equaliser. Near the end of the game, the young Englishman started a counterattack and managed to score from a very difficult position. Besides knowing how to score the last minute goals in Premier League, Owen does know how to help his team win the Cup, too.

Germany vs Argentina (Mario Gotze)

The Germans and the Argentinians had a serious clash in the World Cup 2014. The result was 0:0 throughout the entire 90-minute game. The first half of the extra time followed. It was also goalless. As the end was coming closer, Schurrle somehow ended up near the box as he outsmarted the two German defenders.

He then passed the ball to Mario Gotze, who used his chest to stop it and then do an amazing left-foot volley to beat the Argentinian goalkeeper. It was 2014, and Germany had its first title since their unification in 1990.

Netherlands vs Argentina (Denis Bergkamp)

Going back in time, some may recall the historical World Cup 1998 final between Oranje Holland and La Albiceleste. Both the Dutchmen and the Argentinians scored a goal each.

As there was no winner in the regular 90-minute period, the finalists played the extra time. One of the Dutch players launched a very long ball that was hard to control.

Not many could even stop it, but Denis Bergkamp stopped the ball and went around the last Argentine defender. He then shot his shot and scored one of the last minute goals in football that made the Dutch fans go crazy as it brought the victory to the Netherlands.

Bayern Munich vs Dortmund (Arjen Robben)

As Bayern Munich lost the 2012 Champions League final to Chelsea, they had more pressure to win the title in the following season, as they got into the finals. Their very old rivals, Dortmund, were on the other side of the pitch.

Bayern took the lead early on, but Dortmund evened up the score after some time. Arjen Robben, who missed the crucial penalty when playing against Chelsea a season before, decided to write history and score one of the best last minute goals in football in this era.

It was Frank Ribery who made an astonishing pass with his heel. Afterwards, Robben made it through Dortmund’s defence as fast as a flying bullet and kicked the ball that Dortmund’s keeper couldn’t really save.

Ajax vs Tottenham (Lucas Moura)

Tottenham rose to power and held a high spot in the Premier League in 2019. Besides some important last minute goals in Premier League, this team had an unforgettable match against Ajax in the Champions League semifinals. Why do I mention this game?

Well, it’s because of the unbelievable turnover made by Tottenham. You may be wondering, who’s the one to get the credit for that? The answer is Lucas Moura. The Spurs lost their first game to Ajax in London by 1:0.

In Amsterdam, Ajax took the two-goal lead. As the aggregate was 3:0, Tottenham experienced a bit of a crisis. Then, the saviour came. Lucas Moura scored two goals in five minutes. When the game was almost lost, in the 96th minute, Moura juggled the ball and made a fiery shot to score his hat trick and take his team to the finals.

Barcelona vs PSG (Sergi Roberto)

In the 2017 Champions League Round of 16, PSG took a huge lead as they triumphed over Barca by 4:0 in the first leg. In the rematch, Barca scored as many as three goals in the first half.

Cavani scored for PSG. So, the Catalans had to hit the net three more times in order to advance to the following stage. Neymar made miracles and scored one free-kick as well as one penalty near the stoppage time. At the very end of the match, the Brazilian took a free kick.

This time, he wasn’t aiming for the goal. One of the PSG’s defenders kicked the ball away from the box. But it once again landed in Barca’s possession. Neymar made an assist for Sergi Roberto, who was onside and who scored one of the best comeback last minute goals in football.