Bruno Fornaroli, take a bow.
Fornaroli scored one of the great goals of his career in the first half of Melbourne Victory’s Isuzu UTE A-League clash against Central Coast Mariners – restoring parity for Tony Popovic’s side on the brink of half-time with a stunning long-range strike.
With Victory facing a 1-0 half-time deficit following Alou Kuol’s opener in Gosford on Sunday, Fornaroli received the ball on the left flank with Brian Kaltak right behind him.
The 36-year-old did well to hold Kaltak off, before nutmegging Storm Roux and driving centrally towards the top of the box where he took a touch away from goal and fired into the top corner with inch-perfect precision.
Incredibly, Fornaroli was off balance as he hit it, but Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic was left with no chance of stopping it.
Network 10 commentator Robbie Thomson said the xG (expected goals) of Fornaroli’s strike was only 0.03 – which essentially translates to one in every 300 of those attempts actually end up in the back of the net.
The goal is Fornaroli’s seventh of the season as he sits atop the Golden Boot standings after six rounds.
It was, however, his first since Round 3, taking his A-Leagues goal tally to 96 as he edges one step closer to becoming third Isuzu UTE A-League player to reach the century milestone after Jamie Maclaren and Besart Berisha.
His early-season performances have shot him back into Socceroos contention, with the 2024 AFC Asian Cup only a little over a month away and a potential opening due to the injury of Western Sydney Wanderers striker Brandon Borrello.
“Arnie, here I am,” Thomson exclaimed after the goal.
