What is the best goal you’ve ever seen live?
It’s a classic staple of any pub conversation about the beautiful game. Some fans will be lucky enough to have seen one of the greats produce a sublime moment of skill, while others will offer up a goal of personal significance, a last-minute promotion winner or a derby day equaliser.
Radio presenter and Chelsea supporter Johnny Vaughan has been a Stamford Bridge regular for decades and his favourite-ever live goal came in a star-packed match - but not from the most obvious player.
Johnny Vaughan’s favourite live goal
The 2012 Champions League semi-final between Chelsea and Barcelona was a modern-day European classic.
The Blues were searching for their first-ever Champions League victory, having come up short in the 2008 final, but were up against Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Catalans, who had breezed past Manchester United in the previous season’s final.
A Didier Drogba goal in first-half stoppage time at Stamford Bridge had given the Blues a narrow 1-0 lead to take to Camp Nou, but Sergio Busquets wiped that advantage out after 35 minutes of the second leg.
Roberto Di Matteo’s side then found themselves behind in the tie when Andres Iniesta put them 2-1 ahead on aggregate two minutes before the half-time interval, but there was one more twist before half-time.
“Ramires’ lob in the 2012 Champions League semi-final at Barcelona,” Vaughan tells FourFourTwo when asked for the best live goal he has ever seen.
“I was in the third row and I could shout at Lionel Messi as he walked past. I got tickets from Frank Lampard as he’s a friend of mine, and after Messi had missed a penalty I shouted at him, 'Barcelona, you couldn’t even finish a cathedral,' which even got a laugh from the Barça fans.
“We’d been to the city’s unfinished Sagrada Familia and all I wanted was for them to fail to finish something so I could shout it. And he missed the pen.”
Ramires - who appeared in FourFourTwo’s list of the best Brazilians to play in the Premier League - had got Chelsea back level and this goal set the stage for Fernando Torres’ stoppage time goal, which famously left Gary Neville breathless in the commentary box and gave Chelsea the platform to win their first ever Champions League crown the following month.
Johnny’s podcast, ‘Bloomin’ Legends’, is available to listen to on Global Player and all major podcast platforms now
