10 Premier League players who have tormented their former teams
Traditionally, players tend to avoid celebrating when they score against their former teams. There are, however, times when such niceties are promptly discarded, for a variety of reasons.
More often than not, it's because the player in question did not depart his previous club on the best of terms. Emmanuel Adebayor's infamous slide in front of the Arsenal fans at the Etihad is one such instance.
When Emmanuel Adebayor ran the full length of the pitch to celebrate in front of Arsenal fans 😂
https://t.co/MVAnqyiD6P
At other times, the importance of the occasion can get the better of even the calmest of players. For example, Chelsea's Ben Chilwell couldn't hide his delight after scoring what he thought was a last-ditch equaliser against former club Leicester City in the 2021 FA Cup final.
Unfortunately for the full-back, the goal was chalked off for offside, but his celebration did not go unnoticed by the Foxes faithful.
This Ben Chilwell celebration against his own club. Inject it into my veins. 🤣🤣🤣💉💉💉 https://t.co/57ioJOOZKO
Some big names, though, have consistently come back to bite the hand that once fed them. On that note, here's a look at ten players who regularly netted against the sides they once played for, especially on the biggest of stages:
#10 Danny Welbeck (Manchester United)
England forward Danny Welbeck came up through the ranks at Manchester United's academy, making 142 appearances for the Red Devils. Despite playing as a striker, the Englishman was only able to register a meagre output of 29 goals and 21 assists in nearly eight years at Old Trafford.
He joined Arsenal in the 2014-15 season, and promptly scored the winner to knock his former team out of the FA Cup in a sixth-round clash between the two rivals. The striker wasn't hesitant to bring out his trademark celebration either, and repeated the feat in 2016-17 when he netted in a 2-0 league win for Arsenal.
Unfortunately for Welbeck, those are the only two times he finished on the winning side, losing six of eight games against Manchester United. However, he has scored four times against the Red Devils.
#9 Mohamed Salah (Chelsea)
With their expensive strikeforce currently misfiring, Chelsea must be ruing their decision to let go of Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian forward was signed by the London giants in January 2014 for £15 million from Swiss side Basel. Salah, though, endured a torrid time with the Blues, making just 19 appearances for the English team and scoring only two goals.
A loan spell at Fiorentina was followed by another loan move to AS Roma. Chelsea eventually sold Salah to the Rome-based club for £13.5 million, losing money in the process. Today, the Egyptian is arguably the best player in the Premier League, and has scored 148 goals across competitions for Liverpool.
🎙 - "SALAAAAAAAH!"
#OnThisDay in 2019, Mohamed Salah scored *THAT* goal against Chelsea at Anfield...🚀 https://t.co/rdvnGVhAjH
Salah has faced Chelsea 14 times, winning seven games while finishing on the losing side six times. He has scored seven goals and provided two assists against the Blues.
The Liverpool man refused to celebrate his first goal against the London club. However, Salah did not hesitate to express his delight in iconic fashion after scoring a screamer when the two sides met in April 2019.