I scored one of the best goals in Premier League history: Cristiano Ronaldo's reaction said it all
Wayne Rooney. Alejandro Garnacho. Dean Ashton.
The Premier League has seen some truly impressive overhead kick goals, with West Ham's cult hero Ashton producing one of the best of modern times.
With the Hammers In May 2008, trailing 3-0 to Manchester United after just 26 minutes, the England international with one cap stunned the Old Trafford crowd.
Moments later Carlos Tevez When the scoresheet came down, defender Wes Brown was unable to properly clear a cross into the box, causing the ball to go up into the air.
Ashton then used his physique to ignore Fernando Riverbefore shooting acrobatically into the top left corner from the penalty spot.
Edwin van der Sar I couldn't do anything but watch the ball go into the back of the net, with the United Fans were quick to applaud the emphatic finish.
And it wasn't just the Red Devils faithful who were shocked by the strike, as Cristiano Ronaldo He quickly gave his seal of approval to the former Norwich striker.
Speaking to talkSPORT.com about his goal, Ashton said: “The main thing is that I remember coming back to the halfway line and Ronaldo was just looking at me.
“He just winked at me and I thought, 'Yeah, I'll take it.'
“Most of their players were saying 'fair play', unfortunately Fergie (Sir Alex Ferguson) didn't say anything.
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“But he's said some nice things in the past about me as a player, so I'll take it.
“I think scoring against his team probably wasn't what he wanted.”
West Ham eventually lost 4-1 at the Theater of Dreams that afternoon, with Ronaldo scoring twice.
They were two of the 42 goals the Portuguese international scored that season, in which he helped United win the Premier League and the Champions League.
And Ashton recalled how he and the rest of the West Ham attack were laughing at his team's defenders for having to deal with him.
He commented: “I remember playing that game at Old Trafford and they had Ronaldo, (Wayne) Rooney and Tevez as their front three.
“It was unreal, possibly one of the best front three Manchester United have ever had.
“And he was just beginning to reach the peak of his powers.
“The best thing for us forwards was to listen to and criticize our own defenders for having to face Ronaldo.
“Obviously, as players, of course you do the best you can, you are professionals, but at the same time, you can recognize incredible talent.
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“And then we destroyed some of the players who were facing him.”
Ronaldo's remarkable 2007/08 campaign saw him win the Ballon d'Or, the first of his five awards.
He would spend just one more year at United before joining Real Madrid for a world record fee of £80 million.
In contrast, Ashton was forced to retire just months after Ronaldo's transfer at the age of 26 due to repeated ankle injuries.
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