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Opinion

Best of 2025-26: Best Goal

With the curtain having come down on the 2025/26 Ligue 1 McDonald's season, in a new series, the editorial staff picks their favorite moments of what was a thrilling season, continuing with the best goal.
STAFF
Published on 05/24/2026 at 12:30
3-minute read
João Neves' hat trick against Toulouse FC featured two strong candidates for Goal of the Season

With the curtain having come down on the 2025/26 Ligue 1 McDonald's season, in a new series, the editorial staff picks their favorite moments of what was a thrilling season, continuing with the Best Goal. Join George Boxall, Eric Devin and Luke Entwistle for a bumper review.

Joao Neves vs Toulouse FC:

 August, for a lot of us in the French football media, feels like the world away. But let’s cast our minds back to the early days of the season, and the Toulouse Stadium, where Paris Saint-Germain and Joao Neves were on fire during their trip to Toulouse. It featured one of the most complete performances from the Portuguese midfielder, including a rather memorable hat-trick for Les Parisiens.

Perhaps the best individual display of a single player this season, Joao Neves was simply on fire against Toulouse with a hat-trick which featured not one but two bicycle kicks. The first saw the Portuguese international open the scoring for Les Parisiens, flicking the ball up to his chest after Ousmane Dembélé scrambled to volley the ball - and then finishing acrobatically in line with the six-yard box. The second was even better though, chested in line with the penalty spot before being sweetly struck with the overhead kick… simply stunning. -GB

Ousmane Dembélé vs LOSC

While injury prevented the Ballon d'Or winner from reaching the cumulative totals he had in the previous campaign, Dembélé still delivered a standout season, being devastatingly effective when picked with ten goals and seven assists in 22 appearances. For this, he was named the UNFP Player of the Year, and at the awards ceremony last week, he also took home the Goal of the Season award.

As both of my colleagues have mentioned, it's hard not to be impressed by his finish in what was a hard-fought encounter against a Lille side who have shown their bona fides all season. Taking up the ball on the edge of the area, he feints twice, drawing no less than four LOSC defenders, before a finish of parabolic beauty, leaving Berke Özer no chance. Other deserving nominees from me include Maxi Oyedele's trivela against Nantes for Strasbourg and Ainsley Maitland-Niles' volleyed chip against PSG - ED   

Folarin Balogun vs Olympique de Marseille:

It is hard to overlook Moussa Al-Taamari’s excellent volley against Lyon, but I love a chipped goal. There have been two excellent ones this season, but both very different from each other. Dembélé’s, against Lille, was excellent in its own right and was a great example of improvisation and adaptation. You feel as though the Ballon d’Or winner wasn’t always going to opt for the lob, but his awareness to see the keeper drifting from his line elicited the attempt. The execution was simply spectacular.

For Folarin Balogun, there was no improvisation. He knew what he was going to do, was aware of how difficult it was - technically - to pull it off, but attempted it anyway… and succeeded. The UMSNT forward was running almost at full pelt, being sent wide by the Marseille defender. The conditions for a chip, which needed to be inch-perfect to beat Geronimo Rulli, not far off his line at all, had to be perfect. At such speed, to have such accuracy is a technical feat more than worthy of earning the award for Goal of the Season. “One of the best goals of [his] career,” was how Balogun described it. “You can say that he created it almost completely on his own,” added his manager, Sébastien Pocognoli. -LE

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