Pure banter assist, this one.
But for the diagram alone, it had to be done.
Easily the most absurd, unintentional assist you might see anywhere.
So it’s fitting, then, that it came all the way from the obscure I-League in India.
Chennai City against Aizawl FC.
Alexander Jesuraj booming a clearance down the sideline.
A bounce, another bounce, and another—and no defender attending it.
Pedro Manzi Cruz chases it, glances up, and thinks: Why not?
That Pedro Manzi goal has totally made my trip to Coimbatore worth the train fare. Goal of the season, probably! #CCFCvAFC #ILeague
— Vishnu Prasad (@visheprasad) January 18, 2019
On the TV broadcast, the guy shouts the line of the year:
“The footballing gods would forgive you, if you left your partner for that goal!”
What a goal Pedro Manzi!!!!!!! Definitely the best in Indian football in a long long time @ChennaiCityFC @roh00
— Damayanti Dasgupta (@DamayantidgTOI) January 18, 2019
So, with that shot, that pass, there we have it—the longest-distance assist of the season, narrowly ahead of Juan Fernando Quintero’s in the Copa Libertadores final a few weeks back:
And just ahead of the Ju Se-jong assist, too, from the 2018 World Cup:
This one the longest, the most absurd, unintentional so far.
Prime banter assist.
Cemented by one exquisite long-shot goal, from Pedro Manzi Cruz.
The whole thing capped off with a choice gesture to the crowd:
The salute.
