Graziano Pelle is getting the hang of this Premier League thing.
Pelle scored the game-winning goal in Southampton’s 2-1 victory over the Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. It also was a sure-fire “Goal of the Season” contender.
The game was knotted at one apiece in the 68th minute when Southampton playmaker Dusan Tadic headed a pass to Pelle. What Pelle did next was pure class, popping the ball into the air, spinning and firing it past goalkeeper Robert Green with stunning technique.
Pelle, 29, has flourished early in his first season in the Premier League, scoring five goals in six games. Pelle says his good form is the product of hard work in preseason.
“I’ve got experience enough now to realize where I am,” Pelle said after the game, according to the Guardian. “I have to be honest, it was not so easy in the beginning, but I was lucky I came to England a month before the start of the season, then I had a big time to adapt myself.
“After one or two games I realized that I needed to do more than what usually I did before in the past. If in Holland I gave up to 80 percent, here you have to give 110. All the games are difficult, all the teams, from the lowest to the top, are always good, good organisation, strong and fit. I don’t like to find an excuse. I’m really positive and I’m happy.”
Southampton is reaping the benefits of Pelle’s impressive strike rate. The win was the Saints’ fourth straight in league play (and sixth in all competitions), and they now sit second in the standings with 13 points from six games — their best-ever start to a to a Premier League campaign.
GIF via Reddit
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@BBCMOTD
