5 active players with most headed goals in the Premier League
Some of the best goals in the Premier League have been scored with either foot. Whether it's the wickedly clinical lob by David Beckham from the halfway line against Wimbledon, or any one of Tony Yeboah's mercurial screamers during his time with Leeds, goals can be a thing of incredible beauty.
However, headed goals tend to be rather underrated when discussing beautiful goals. Perhaps that's because most headers happen within the penalty area and the six-yard box.
There are some world-class, Puskas-nominated headers, though, like Robin van Persie's diving header against Spain during the 2014 World Cup. The brilliant striker flung his body into the ball, lobbing it over the confused goalkeeper and into the goal.
.@Persie_Official finds out today if his looping header for the Netherlands vs Spain has won the 2014 FIFA Puskas Award. Good luck, Robin!
Scoring headers isn't an easy feat, not for many players in the Premier League. For most, it's a matter of luck and being in the right place at the right time. For a few players, though, it's a measured feat of accuracy, strength and consistency to do it season after season.
So, without further ado, let's take a look at five currently active players who took the Premier League by storm with the sheer number of brilliant headed goals they managed to churn out:
#5 Michail Antonio - 20 headed goals | West Ham United
Ever since he joined in 2015, Michail Antonio has been a key source of goals for West Ham United. His 1.8-meter frame might not be among the tallest for most forwards, but a solid high-jump and the speed to get there first has been vital to him scoring many headers. Notable in the Premier League as a utility player — as he has played in more than four positions in the past 7 seasons — his brilliance in front of goal is what the Hammers love about him.
Antonio is currently in his prime, having scored five goals in just five Premier League games this season, and he doesn't seem to be slowing down. The last two seasons have seen him hit double digits in the Premier League for the first time in his career, and this season might see him add a couple of numbers to his headed goals tally.
#4 Romelu Lukaku - 23 headed goals | Chelsea
He was in the Premier League and then he left, and now he's back in style. Romelu Lukaku is one of the best strikers in the world, combining the pace of a winger, the strength of a target man and the finishing skills of a poacher. He returned to Chelsea, whom he left in 2014. Expectations are high for the journeyman but he's set out to achieve them with ease.
Romelu Lukaku's header was his first goal for Chelsea in the Champions League.
#ucl #cfc #bbcfootball
Lukaku's three seasons leading the Everton frontline threw the star into the spotlight. He could score goals with both feet, and his 1.91-meter frame made him physically imposing and hard for defenders to deal with. Never one to shirk away from a six-yard box tussle, Lukaku has scored 23 headers in the Premier League. Now that he's at Stamford Bridge, the Blues will be looking to him to finish more of those crosses this season.