If there’s something more stunning than a 92nd-minute goal, it’s a 96th-minute goal, regardless of its appearance.
The most romantic phrase was once scrawled on an old wall in Italy and has since been echoed everywhere. “You’re as beautiful as a goal in the 90th minute,” the graffiti declares, and this held true until something even more beautiful came along. At the Ciutat de Valencia stadium on Friday night, Elche initiated a play that seemed straight out of a cartoon or a video game, the climactic scene of a movie. It was like “Escape to Victory” but even more dramatic, starting with the strategic planning of Michael Caine, with arrows and crosses and ping-ping-ping, and ending in the style of Pelé: a flawless masterpiece that secured a 2-2 draw in the derby against Levante. Or so it’s told.
Elche moved from one end of the pitch to the other, from their own goal area to the center of Levante’s. There was a dribble out, a dozen passes, each player getting a touch. A brilliant assist left three defenders going the wrong way. Then, two minutes into stoppage time, Adam Boayar finished with an incredible overhead kick that soared into the corner to complete a goal so remarkable it seemed absurd, and almost unreal in its perfection. As silence fell over the Ciutat, teammates piled on Boayar, while fans in the away section could scarcely believe it, covering their mouths to stifle laughter.
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