Teammates. Psh, who needs 'em?
When Saúl bamboozled his way through the Bayern Munich defense and produced 15 seconds of sheer magic on Wednesday, the young Spaniard engineered one of the great Champions League solo goals of all time.
Shorn of options off the ball, the 21-year-old took off like an Olympic slalom skier, first shaking off Thiago, then splitting Xabi Alonso and Juan Bernat before freezing David Alaba and sending a curling, left-footed past a helpless Manuel Neuer. It proved to be the eventual match-winner that gave Diego Simeone's side a 1-0 victory over Bayern and one foot in the door in next month's final.
To honor the endeavor, we roll back the clock and -- in no particular order -- take a look at five of the competition's iconic, individual goals in recent memory.
Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA) vs Hamburg: December 6, 2006
Remember him?
In his prime, Zhirkov was one of the more gifted left-sided players and made a living with his marauding runs from the left back or left midfield positions. The Russia international spurred his country to a memorable run to the Euro 2008 semifinals, was named to the Team of the Tournament and later that year, found himself among 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or.
But even before then, Zhirkov developed his reputation at CSKA. Here he is putting his side 2-1 up against Hamburg in the Champions League group stages during the 2006/07 campaign. Exhibiting pace, power and precision, Zhirkov collected the ball at the halfway strip and executed two deft flicks en route to a bombarding run, moves that eventually earned him a move to the Premier League and Chelsea.
Thierry Henry (Arsenal) vs Real Madrid: February 21, 2006
Arsenal have made a habit of exiting at the Round of 16 lately. Six years running, in fact. But their remarkable journey toward the 2006 Champions League final was a cherished memento and included an unforgettable pit stop in the Spanish capital, where Arsene Wenger's outfit walked away 1-0 victors over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 encounter.
After taking Cesc Fabregas' pass in stride, Thierry Henry rode challenges from Ronaldo, Álvaro, Guti and Sergio Ramos before sliding a low, left-footed shot past Iker Casillas to silence the Bernabeu. The Gunners then held Los Blancos scoreless in the return leg at Highbury and secured their passage to the quarterfinals.
Kaka (AC Milan) vs Manchester United: April 24, 2007
At 34, there's little doubt that Kaka has lost a step or two, but his years of success at AC Milan precipitated a handful of sublime, darting individual efforts. The one-time World Cup and Champions League winner netted his fair share of goals from distance, but it was his trademark, slaloming sprints through the midfield that captivated fans worldwide.
Case in point: A vintage run against Manchester United. Kaka stole the show and was instrumental in AC Milan's run to Champions League glory in the 2006/07 season, which included a semifinal elimination of Sir Alex Ferguson's side, courtesy of this wonder goal in the first leg at Old Trafford.
Like a knife through butter.
Gareth Bale (Tottenham) vs Inter Milan: October 20, 2010
Tottenham's hopes of procuring any sort of result against Inter in their group stage tilt had all but fizzled out after the reigning champions went on a four-goal tear inside 35 minutes, including three after a quarter of an hour. But simply throwing in the towel wasn't good enough for Gareth Bale.
Spurs' star in the making, just 21 years old at the time, announced himself on the world stage that night with a hat trick for the ages. He picked the ball up from Peter Crouch in his defensive half, burst past two Nerazzurri players and left Javier Zanetti in his wake before firing an angling shot past Julio Cesar for his first.
Bale netted a near identical strike in the 90th minute and kept alive what had seemed an unthinkable task by sealing his hat trick in stoppage time, even though the match ultimately ended 4-3. Still, it was playground stuff, and Inter, defined by their defensive nous at the time, had no answer.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona) vs Real Madrid: April 27, 2011
Time and again, the footballing world has watched and stood in awe of the supernatural talent that is Lionel Messi. Consider this the crème de la crème.
Of the 452 times (and counting!) he has bulged the back of the net for Barcelona, none were arguably as poignant and momentous as this gem against, who else, Real Madrid. The Argentine delivered two huge away goals on the night that effectively settled the semifinal against Barcelona's eternal rivals, paved the way to Wembley and Champions League glory soon after.
