Premier League Goalkeepers To Have Scored A Goal

It is a sight familiar to us all. A team is behind and the clock is ticking. In desperate search of an equalizer a corner is won, or perhaps a free-kick out wide.

Marooned in the other half of the pitch, a goalkeeper looks to his bench and gets the thumbs-up from his gaffer. First he jogs up the pitch, then he breaks into a gallop.

And all the while a buzz runs through the crowd like electricity. They know how rare it is for a keeper to score a top-flight goal. Once in a lifetime, maybe. Could today be that day?

How rare? Well, to date there have been north of 12,000 Premier League fixtures since its forming in 1992. And to date only six shot-stoppers have peeled away in celebration, after getting their name on the score-sheet.

Goalkeepers To Score In Premier League:

• Peter Schmeichel – October 2001
• Brad Friedel – February 2004
• Paul Robinson – March 2007
• Tim Howard – January 2012
• Asmir Begovic – November 2013
• Alisson Becker – May 2021

Peter Schmeichel

Schmeichel became the first goalkeeper to score in the Premier League era in Aston Villa’s 3-2 defeat to Everton in October 2001.

The big Dane smashed home a superb volley at the back post to score the ninth goal of his career.

Arguably the greatest goalkeeper in Premier League history, that strike against Everton was Schmeichel’s first and last goal in English football.

He did, however, score for Manchester United in a UEFA Cup clash with Rotor Volgograd in 1995.

Brad Friedel

We are at the Valley in 2004, and Charlton Athletic are clinging on to a 2-1 lead against a Blackburn side in the ascendancy.

With seconds remaining, veteran Brad Friedel thunders up and joins the party. The visitors have a corner, their last hope.

Though it is overhit, the ball is quickly retrieved and drilled back into the box, low and hard. The 6ft 4 American – farcically unmarked – sticks out a boot and pokes it home from close range.

Cue wild celebrations, and if this was a film the credits would roll here. Only every so often, life is stranger than fiction.

Almost from kick-off, the Addicks get a free-kick and go long. A flick-on, a dipping volley, and Friedel is left grasping at thin air.

What would be the football odds on this chain of events occurring? The same as Elvis being found on the moon presumably.

Paul Robinson

Robinson became the first goalkeeper to score a Premier League goal direct from a free-kick in March 2007, but if you’re picturing a clever dink over the wall you would be some way out.

Seventy-six yards out to be exact, the set-piece taken to the left, and a little advanced of, his own penalty area.

It was therefore, to all extents and purposes, a glorified goal-kick.

That’s not to take anything away from the Spurs stopper’s execution, a powerful punt up field, aimed for the Egyptian striker Mido but overhit.

It was the bounce that did for Watford keeper Ben Foster, misjudging it horribly and left red-faced.

To this day, Robinson is the only England goalkeeper to score a top flight goal – and he did so against a fellow Three Lions star.

Tim Howard

The windy conditions on Merseyside played a big part in Howard’s goal against Bolton, with the ball travelling strongly over the helpless Adam Bogdan.

Living up to his nice guy reputation, the American was gracious enough post-match to put his headline-grabbing feat entirely down to good fortune.

Perhaps spurred on by this weather-related injustice, the visitors, to their immense credit, equalized a matter of minutes later, before snatching a winner with ten remaining.

Few at Goodison on that blustery evening however will recall the result, only Howard’s sublime and ridiculous strike.

Asmir Begovic

Stoke City were enduring a period of poor form and results when Southampton headed to the Potteries in November 2013.

Hovering just above the bottom three this was considered a must-win game with a good start no doubt prioritized.

That duly occurred in the unlikeliest of forms when Begovic cleared from inside his own box just 13 seconds in. With the ball picking up wind-assisted knots it traveled high above every player, landing deep in enemy territory. A kindly bounce saw it sail over opposite number Artur Boric.

Officially recorded at 91.9m, the Bosnian’s effort earned him a place in the Guinness World Records for the longest goal in competitive football.

Stoke were known for their route one football back in the day but this was just silly.

Alisson Becker

Having won the league a year earlier, Liverpool had short Premier League odds to claim a second crown in 2020/21. Alas, injuries and a collective hangover from their achievement left them off the pace throughout.

In truth, this was a season to forget for the Reds but with three games remaining Alisson Becker ensured that fans at least had a memory to cherish over the summer, notching a dramatic injury-time winner against West Brom.

It guaranteed Liverpool top four that term and though the stands were empty, courtesy of the pandemic, the scenes on the bench were raucous.

Connecting with an out-swinging corner, the Brazilian became the first Premier League keeper to score from a header and what a header it was.

Redirected into the far corner, even the great John Toshack back in the day would have been proud to have that on his showreel.