Roberto Soldado’s six-yard strike against the bar in Tottenham’s 4-2 FA Cup third-round replay victory over Burnley is already being touted as the miss of the season.
Here, we examine some of the English game’s greatest misses of all time.
:: Ronny Rosenthal, Aston Villa 4 Liverpool 2, September 1992
Israel forward Rosenthal will never live down his most famous, and cringeworthy, moment as a Liverpool star.
The 60-cap striker latched onto David James’ long ball and raced clean through at Villa Park, only to blast the ball against the bar from just yards out.
This stinker remains the pinnacle of great misses, topping almost every attempt at a catalogue since compiled.
:: Nwankwo Kanu, West Brom 1 Middlesbrough 2, November 2004
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The Nigeria striker made a fine living off unorthodox finishes, but this effort pushed improvisation beyond the limit.
Lurking at the far post Kanu steadied himself for a short-range tap-in from a low cross, only to contrive to lob the ball over the bar from two yards.
The kind of miss he could not repeat, even if he tried.
:: Roberto Soldado, Tottenham 4 Burnley 2, January 2015
Misfiring Soldado’s FA Cup shocker neatly encapsulates his struggles ever since joining Tottenham in August 2013.
The Spain striker produced solid build-up play and even laid on two assists as Spurs overcame leaking two early goals at White Hart Lane to canter into the fourth round.
When it came to the simple task of a tap-in, however, the former Valencia man was found wanting, just as he has been so often in his Tottenham stint. Andros Townsend’s low cross took Burnley goalkeeper Tom Heaton out of commission but the out-of-sorts Soldado blasted against the bar.
:: Fernando Torres, Manchester United 3 Chelsea 1, September 2011
Torres’ B#50million move to Chelsea was designed to crown the Stamford Bridge club’s rise to world superpower status but the Spain star left his deadly prowess in front of goal on Merseyside when he swapped Liverpool for west London.
When Torres raced clean through in the dying stages of a fraught clash at Old Trafford, the money was on the ex-Atletico Madrid man firing home to tee up a tense finale.
The once sure-fire bet crumbled under the weight of an empty net after rounding David De Gea however, shanking inexplicably wide with the goal at his mercy.
:: Carlos Tevez, Sunderland 1 Man City 0, August 2010
Perhaps the cruellest element of Tevez’s stunning miss is the fact that seconds before his howler the Argentina forward was demanding the ball from Yaya Toure.
Tevez gesticulated with both hands for his midfield team-mate to lay on a scoring pass and the Ivorian duly obliged, but Tevez looped the ball over the empty net from the penalty spot.
City would have taken the lead on Wearside had Tevez finished in routine fashion, but instead wound up retreating to Manchester empty-handed.
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