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From Lucas Perri to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Leeds’s equaliser at Sunderland on Sunday went from back to front. Every player in blue had a touch, playing their part in extending Leeds’s unbeaten run to five. It was the second time the whole team had been involved in a goal this season, out of 503 Premier League strikes. Here we look at some of the others.
Rio Ngumoha, Newcastle v Liverpool (August 2025)
The other goal of 11 component parts this season also took a great deal of composure, but it did not come from a seasoned striker, instead it was left to the 16-year‑old on Premier League debut. The move leading up to his winner had taken up 10% of Ngumoha’s league career. Ten-man Newcastle had equalised in the 88th-minute but there was plenty of injury time on the clock. There was no panic in the Liverpool ranks, consciously knowing the extra man was a huge advantage against a tired team, meaning they were able to move the ball and Newcastle’s defence around. The key involvement was not a touch but a Dominik Szoboszlai dummy from Mohamed Salah’s cross, allowing Ngumoha in space at the back post to curl the ball beyond Nick Pope. “It is a dream debut for him. It was a perfect technique,” Virgil van Dijk said. “We stayed calm towards the end as well, tried to find the right solution in order to score a goal, and we did it.”
Sergio Agüero, Manchester City v Hull (April 2017)
Unsurprisingly, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have notched a few of these intricate team moves over the years. In the Spaniard’s first season in charge, he was showing the Premier League how he wanted his team to play and towards the end of the campaign his image of City was coming to life. It began with a throw-in, which was patiently worked around the back, as City waited to pounce. There were 20 touches, but things only gathered speed on the edge of the area when Raheem Sterling burst through and crossed for Sergio Agüero, who had earlier been involved in the move on the halfway line, to do the rest. “Our second goal was beautiful, a good example of what we would like the team to be,” Guardiola said. “I like everyone to be involved.”
Bernardo Silva, Man Utd v Man City ( November 2021)
City were just toying with United as first-half injury time approached in the Manchester derby. Already in the lead thanks to an Eric Bailly own goal, City were knocking passes around under limited pressure from the hosts at Old Trafford. They were allowed to maintain possession for 90 seconds as they worked their way up the pitch without any urgency, reflecting the pressing operation from Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side. The situation did not look particularly dangerous until Bernardo Silva sent the 25th pass of the move across to João Cancelo, who whipped a cross over the sleeping defence for his Portuguese compatriot to jab at David de Gea and the goalkeeper could only watch it bounce off him and in. “The best way to silence the stadium is to keep the ball,” Guardiola said. And a pin could be heard dropping when Silva scored.
Christian Eriksen, Tottenham v Everton (January 2018)
The game was remembered for Harry Kane becoming Tottenham’s highest Premier League goalscorer. It was his hold-up play in the middle of the Everton half that was the catalyst for the goal after taking time to move the ball up the pitch. Once Kane had held off Phil Jagielka, the real magic began in the final third as Son Heung-min found Dele Alli, whose sublime back-heel was perfect for Eriksen to sweep into the back of the net to top off a 4-0 pummelling. Everton could not resist the change in tempo, left forlorn on a difficult day at Wembley, nor could they comfort themselves with witnessing an all-time classic goal, even if it was one that has gone under the radar.
Mesut Özil, Arsenal v Newcastle (February 2020)
It was Arsenal’s seventh victory of the season as Mikel Arteta desperately tried to orchestrate rhythm less than three months after taking charge. The fundamentals of what he had learned throughout his career and recently as Guardiola’s right-hand man at the Etihad Stadium were becoming evident, with Newcastle the victims. The Gunners were so dominant they were able to play it from back to front twice without Newcastle laying a glove on them. After 32 passes, Mesut Özil deemed it time to act, dribbling into space at speed in the middle of the pitch, changing the dynamic of the move in an instant. The German found Nicolas Pépé on the edge of the box, he picked out Alexandre Lacazette and a second later Özil was running away with his arm aloft.
