If you don’t believe athletes often make their own luck (or misfortune), Adam Lallana and Lukasz Fabianski demonstrated the folly of your ways Monday.
Lallana scored twice in Liverpool’s 4-1 Premier League win over Swansea City at Anfield. He showed his considerable talent with his second strike, but only after he already had combined with Swansea City goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to score one of the strangest goals in recent memory.
Liverpool was leading 1-0 early in the second half when Swansea City defender Ashley Williams sent a back-pass toward Fabianksi, who simply took too much time to play the ball back upfield, as Lallana closed down the space between them. When Fabianski finally decided to release the ball, Lallana was just feet away from him. Hilarity ensued, and Liverpool had doubled its lead.
Lallana’s goal surprised players, fans and U.S. women’s national team stars alike.
[tweet https://twitter.com/sydneyleroux/status/549673253158260736 align=’center’]
Gilfy Sigurdsson’s 51st-minute goal gave Swansea City an instant response and cut the Reds’ lead. The one-time Liverpool target also set the stage for Lallana to score the victory-clinching goal 10 minutes later. Phillippe Coutinho assisted on the goal with a fine back-heel pass, but Lallana did the heavy lifting, dribbling around two Swans and confidently shooting past Fabianski.
The goals take Lallana’s 2014-15 tally to four.
Having scored twice and helped create one more goal, Lallana rightfully basked in praise after the game. It all might have been different for Lallana, had he waited for fate to intervene on his behalf instead of pressuring the opponents’ goalkeeper.
Review our Liverpool-Swansea City live blog >>
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@si_soccer
First goal GIF via Reddit
