What are the Top 20 Premier League goals of all-time?
Answering that incredibly difficult question is our goal and we’re counting down the Top 20 Premier League goals in history between now and the end of the 2024-25 season.
This wasn’t easy, but it was fun, and the quality of goals which didn’t even make the Top 20 was mind-boggling.
MORE — Top 20 Premier League goals of all-time hub
We will release each goal included in our countdown one by one across our digital channels between now and May 2025, counting down to the goal which will win the accolade as our best-ever goal in Premier League history.
Below you will find the latest goal as we continue our countdown of the Top 20 all-time goals in the Premier League.
Counting down the Top 20 Premier League goals of all-time
20. Vincent Kompany’s stunning strike for Manchester City vs Leicester City — May 6, 2019
Cometh the hour, cometh Vincent Kompany. With Manchester City struggling to break down Leicester in the penultimate game of the 2019-20 season, they needed something special.
Kompany was one of the greatest defenders in the history of the game. But nobody expected him to unleash this incredible strike to send the Etihad Stadium wild.
City had to win their game in-hand against Leicester otherwise they would go into the final game of the season knowing the title was out of their control and Liverpool could snatch it.
But with 20 minutes to go Kompany strode forward from defense and with his teammates telling him to pass it, City’s skipper instead put his head down and sent a right-footed thunderbolt into the top corner.
City would go on to win the title by beating Brighton on the final day of the season, but Kompany’s goal was the iconic moment which won the trophy. Not only was it a brilliant goal but it was also hugely important. The perfect combo.
19. Gareth Bale’s amazing volley for Tottenham vs Stoke — August 21, 2010
Welsh wizard Gareth Bale delivered so many memorable moments, and goals, throughout his glittering career but this strike against Stoke has to go down as his best in the Premier League.
Bale, just 21 when he scored this goal, had taken a while to break into the Spurs team but was just starting to make his mark as a left-winger after being pushed forward from left back.
This acrobatic volley against Stoke was a glimpse of the brilliance which was about to come over the next decade, and more.
Bale scored so many Premier League stunners for Tottenham before he moved to Real Madrid in September 2013. His late strike at West Ham was memorable, plus so many curlers at White Hart Lane when Spurs needed him too.
But the audacity to pull off this volley, with his leg practically shoulder high when he connected with it, plus the angle he hit it from and placing it perfectly inside the far top corner, makes this his best-ever Premier League goal.
18. Papiss Cisse scores mind-blowing volley for Newcastle at Chelsea — May 2, 2012
Every once in a while there are players who arrive and become cult heroes instantly, as a purple patch lines up perfectly with their arrival at the club. Papiss Cisse enjoyed one of the best purple patches in Premier League history, as he arrived at Newcastle from Freiburg and instantly become a star.
Cisse arrived in January 2012 and scored 13 goals in his first 14 Premier League games for Newcastle as he helped them qualify for the Europa League as Alan Pardew’s Magpies were a proper surprise package and finished in fifth place just two seasons after being promoted to the top-flight.
If you ask any Newcastle fan, or any fan of any team for that matter, what they remember about Papiss Cisse they will simply say: “That goal he scored against Chelsea.”
When the ball dropped to Cisse way out on the left flank, the sheer audacity for him to have a shot from that angle given the degree of difficulty to pull it off was mind-boggling.
For him to then get all of his calculations correct and see the ball spin and drop into the far top corner and past Chelsea’s flailing legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech was quite something. Relive it in all its beauty below, as Cisse 37 scored goals in 117 Premier League games but none came close to this.
17. Paul Scholes scores superb volley for Manchester United against Aston Villa - 19 December, 2006
When you think of Paul Scholes you think of sensational goals and this was the pick of the bunch.
Scholes is a Manchester United legend and won it all for the Red Devils after coming through their youth setup.
The Mancunian midfielder was one of the most gifted players England has ever produced and often scored stunning volleys like this one.
This type of volley is something Scholes tried often and pulled off a few times during his amazing career. After a corner was cleared to way outside the box, Villa must have thought they would be fine. Think again.
The technique to pull this off is unbelievable. Scholes didn’t try to hammer the ball but lined up everything perfectly and caught the volley so sweetly that is sped up after it left his foot. There was just no saving this.
16. Heung-min Son scores an unbelievable solo goal against Burnley - 7 December, 2019
This goal won the Puskas award for the best goal on the planet and it’s hard to disagree.
Son has scored some amazing solo goals over the years but this was something else. As he picked the ball up on the edge of his own box it looked like nothing was on. But then he drove past one, two, three and four Burnley defenders. And kept going.
Running at incredible speed for almost the length of the pitch, Son then managed to settle himself and slot home a calm finish to send the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium wild. The noise levels were incredible, and kept getting louder and louder, as Son went on his mazy run.
One of the most consistently brilliant Premier League players over the last decade had delivered a goal he will always be remembered for.
15. Mohamed Salah scores mesmerizing solo goal for Liverpool vs Manchester City in huge game - 3 October, 2021
To score a goal like this in a game like this is truly special. At the height of Liverpool’s rivalry with Manchester City, the games between them were so intense, tight and there was so little to choose between them.
Then Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian King, does something like this and the roar when this goal went in will stay with me forever.
In this game in October 2021, which ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw, Salah bamboozled City’s world-class players to give Liverpool the lead late in the second half.
City’s players had no answer as he picked the ball up with his back to goal, then twisted and wriggled past several defenders with mind-blowing skill before somehow smashing the ball across goal and into the far corner from a ridiculously tight angle.
Salah is a Liverpool legend and this has to be his best goal in a Liverpool shirt. It defies logic how he managed to do this.
14. Peter Crouch scores an unbelievable acrobatic volley for Stoke against Manchester City - 24 March, 2012
Giant striker Peter Crouch had a penchant for scoring incredible acrobatic volleys throughout his long career and this was the pick of the bunch. With his giant frame and swinging arms and legs, Crouch often defied logic and physics with the control he could get on the ball.
Across his time playing for Aston Villa, Southampton, Portsmouth, Tottenham, Stoke City and Burnley in the Premier League, Crouch scored a plethora of mind-boggling goals from impossible angles.
This one against Manchester City was simply stunning, as a long ball forward was knocked down to Crouch way out towards the right side of the box. Without even looking at where the goal was he took one touch and swiveled his entire body, as he sent an audacious dipping volley up and over Joe Hart and into the far top corner.
To get his angles right, the correct dip on the shot and weigh up everything from that distance in the space of a few milliseconds was genius. Crouch brought a smile to so many faces over the years and his cult hero status was cemented by goals like this. His robot celebrations weren’t bad either.
13. Dennis Bergkamp scores swiveling, majestic goal for Arsenal at Newcastle — 2 March, 2002
There are some goals that really stick out in your memory and you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you saw it. I was sat in my parents’ living room, eating a pizza when I basically spat it out in amazement after what I’d just seen Dennis Bergkamp do. The Dutch maestro generated that kind of reaction often during his incredible career.
Bergkamp made Arsenal’s magnificent team tick under Arsene Wenger. The Dutch playmaker synced up perfectly with forwards Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Marc Overmars, Robert Pires and Nicolas Anelka over the years, as his grace on the ball and ability to pick the right pass at the right time was unmatched. So many players who played with him lauded Bergkamp for making them, and the whole team, look better due to his brilliance.
The former Ajax and Inter Milan star was a genius and this goal, both for its ingenuity and audacity, has gone down in folklore. Like all great playmakers Bergkamp already painted a picture in his mind of what he wanted to do when the ball was coming to him. To pull it off was marvelous and befitting of his greatness.
To knock the ball around Newcastle’s Nikos Dabizas with his left foot with his back to goal, then already be on the move in the opposite direction to open his body up and then slot home with his right, all while the Newcastle defender was still reacting to the first pass into Bergkamp’s feet, was astounding and like watching ballet. We’ve never really seen another goal scored like this, and we may never see it again. That’s how creative Bergkamp was and the Dutchman was a true artist who painted many masterpieces throughout his career and especially during his time in the Premier League as the lead conductor of a hugely successful and entertaining Arsenal side. This was his piece de resistance.
12. Tony Yeboah smashes home brilliant volley against Wimbledon, mirroring his strike against Liverpool — 23 September, 1995
Hammering a volley off the crossbar and in will forever be known as doing a “Yeboah” to many out there. That’s because Tony Yeboah mostly scored bangers as the Ghanian striker was a revelation at Leeds United.
Yeboah scored almost identical volleys just one month apart during the 1995-96 season. The first one was in August 1995 at Elland Road against Liverpool and this one away at Wimbledon came in September. The volley against Liverpool sometimes gets more airtime but this strike against Wimbledon was the better goal and won Premier League goal of the season.
The way Yeboah brings the ball down with his chest, then knocks it forward on his thigh as he beats a player with an wonderful drop of the shoulder, and then shifts the ball onto his right foot and smashes home a thunderbolt in off the underside of the bar is remarkable. To hit the ball that hard, with that accuracy is incredibly difficult to do. But he did this all the time.
In the same way David Beckham was known for whipping in free kicks and Wayne Rooney idolized for long-range efforts, Yeboah was the master of volleying home unstoppable efforts. In schoolyards across England for most of the 90’s, and beyond, you’d hear kids shouting “Yeboahhhhhhhh!” when volleying towards goal.
11. Thierry Henry’s wonderful turn and volley for Arsenal vs Manchester United — 30 September, 2000
One of the greatest strikers the Premier League has ever seen, Thierry Henry scored so many sublime goals over the years for the Gunners. But this was his best.
At the height of Arsenal’s rivalry with Manchester United, this game was up there among the biggest in world football. Henry was a rising star and had started to deliver goals, assists and general brilliance consistently for Arsene Wenger’s magnificent side.
Henry so often rose to the big occasion and in the first half of this game he scored the winner in a big statement win for Arsenal. With his back to goal he received the ball and United must have though ‘this is fine, we’re set defensively and Henry is miles from goal.’ Think again. Henry then flicked the ball up, turned and volleyed towards goal all in one movement to totally catch Fabian Barthez out.
The French goalkeeper wasn’t even that far off his line but Henry looped the ball over his head and got the trajectory and dip spot on as the ball flew into the top corner at the Clock End. Cue pandemonium from the Arsenal fans.
There were many moments of genius from Henry during his glittering career as he became Arsenal’s all-time leading goalscorer. But this goal was his piece de resistance.
10. Cristiano Ronaldo’s mesmerizing free kick for Manchester United vs Portsmouth — 30 January 2008
The legendary Portuguese forward is still scoring mind-blowing goals into his 40s, but in terms of a pure strike this was one of his best.
Ronaldo basically invented this free kick technique and he perfected it over the years, as so many other players copied it.
In this game against Portsmouth he lined up the free kick from 25 yards out and it looked like he couldn’t get enough dip to get the ball up and over the wall and into the net in time. Think again.
Ronaldo created incredible swerve and dip and hit the ball so hard it knuckled and gathered pace as it flew right into the top corner. His Hulk-like celebration said it all.
This was the day when Cristiano Ronaldo completed perfection when it came to free kick taking and he would go on to replicate incredible hits like this many times over the years from open play too. Ronaldo worked so hard to get this technique right and when it works it’s a joy to behold.
9. Teenager Wayne Rooney scores sublime long-range goal for Everton vs Arsenal to announce himself to the world — 18 October, 2002
“Remember the name, Wayne Rooney!” are the iconic words associated with this goal and Rooney never looked back.
As a 16-year-old Rooney was known across England as the next big thing. Everton manager David Moyes protected Rooney and nurtured him incredibly well.
But there was no stopping the hype train leaving the station after this miraculous winning goal in the 89th-minute against Arsene Wenger’s all-conquering Arsenal when they were pretty much at their peak.
In this game at Goodison Park Rooney came off the bench and picked up a long ball after it was knocked down to him. He took a touch towards goal and then curled home, with power, a brilliant finish off the crossbar and in to send the home fans wild. Legendary Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman couldn’t work out how he’d been beaten from that distance.
This goal was the moment everyone realized Rooney would go on to achieve special things. During his career he became the all-time leading goalscorer for Manchester United and England, winning every trophy possible with the Red Devils.
But it was his penchant for scoring spectacular goals, which was there from the very start of his career, that truly set him apart.
8. Robin van Persie scores iconic volley to seal Manchester United title win — 22 April, 2013
Robin van Persie propelled Manchester United to the Premier League title in 2012-13 as the Dutch striker was at the peak of his powers.
After leaving Arsenal for United to win trophies, RVP did exactly that in 2013.
He scored so many important goals throughout the season and this stunning volley off a wonderful long-range pass from Wayne Rooney but a bow on a brilliant season.
Rooney launched the ball into the air and from 40 yards away Robin van Persie managed to position his body in the correct position. He then unleashed an unstoppable volley into the far corner with perfect timing and technique. To score this type of volley with so much ground to make up and the ball flying so far in the air before he struck it was textbook Robin van Persie.
He always seemed able to pull off the impossible and this volley certainly defied logic.
