Enock Mwepu v Liverpool wins WAB Brighton Goal of the Season 2021-22
You know it is a good goal when even opposition fans end up clapping. Enock Mwepu earned the applause of some magnanimous Liverpool followers for his stunning 25 yard effort when Brighton drew 1-1 with Liverpool, making it a worthy winner of WAB Brighton Goal of the Season 2021-22.
Enock Mwepu had endured something of an injury hit first three months as an Albion player. There had been flashes of quality but not enough to show why he was nicknamed The Computer.
Whisper it quietly, but certain Seagulls supporters might have even been wondering if Mwepu was just vastly overrated by his Zambian fan base out of national pride, in a similar way to how we were repeatedly told that Percy Tau was a future Ballon d’Or winner.
Anfield on Saturday 30th October 2021 put firmly to bed any doubts about Mwepu. Had his distance scoop over Alisson Becker been a fluke then it still would have been a fantastic goal; the fact that it was quite clearly deliberate made it an ingenious piece of thinking only a player with special talent could produce.
Mwepu was about to receive the ball a long way out from the Redmen goal. In a matter of seconds, Mwepu calculated that Alisson was off his line and that the low autumn sun setting behind the Kop would cause problems for the goalkeeper’s sight.
He then proceeded to produce the perfect looping shot with enough power to surprise Allison, which also dipped precisely between the crossbar and the outstretched hand of Liverpool’s number one.
Liverpool never really recovered from that Enock Mwepu strike as Brighton dominated the second half, completing a famous comeback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2.
That recovery earned further praise from Liverpool fans to go with the plaudits they handed out to The Computer for his wondergoal. Mwepu meanwhile was a runaway winner of our WAB October Player of the Month Award.
There was a bit of controversy that another Enock Mwepu effort other than his Liverpool strike did not make the nominations for WAB Brighton Goal of the Season.
Some readers felt that his goal from the the edge of the box in the 2-1 win at Arsenal should have been a contender. In any other campaign, it would have been.
The Albion though scored some absolute belters in 2021-22, making the six-goal shortlist tough to pick and the battle for second behind Mwepu ridiculously close.
Just 0.65% of the vote separated the acrobatic bicycle kick Neal Maupay notched at West Ham in December and Alexis Mac Allister banging in what proved to be the winner in the Albion’s historic first ever win away at Everton.
It was La Petite Shithouse Française who just about did enough to claim the runner spot with a goal that was in many ways the complete opposite to Mwepu.
The Computer at Anfield had been deliberate and intelligent. Maupay against West Ham was a breath taking piece of improvised skill that nobody saw coming.
Tariq Lamptey hung a cross from out on the right into the Hammers box. Initially, it did not look like a great delivery as it was behind Maupay.
Showing the flexibility of a circus contortionist, Maupay managed to arch his body into an unnatural shape with his back to goal, pulling off a stunning bicycle kick to make it West Ham 1-1 Brighton in the 89th minute and spark bedlam in the away end of the London Stadium.
Mac Allister at Everton was a fantastic example of how to turn defence into attack in double-quick time. Having gone into half time with a 2-0 lead, Brighton had spent most of the second half under the cosh as the Toffees sought a way back into the game.
Anthony Gordon had pulled one back and an equaliser did not seem far away. The importance of Mac Allister grabbing a third against the run of play cannot be understated as Brighton won 3-2, ending a 121 year wait for a victory at Goodison Park.
Dan Burn won possession in the Albion half before charging forward like a giraffe on crack cocaine. The Princess Diana look-a-like found Leandro Trossard, who delivered a low cross pulled back to the edge of the box to Mwepu.
There must have been something in particular that The Computer liked about visiting Merseyside. His deft backheel was nearly as clever as his goal at Anfield nine weeks earlier, laying the ball straight to the feet of Mac Allister.
The Argentine international had time and space to do what he wanted, not that he needed it. He twatted the ball first time into the top corner of the Everton goal, leaving England number one Jordan Pickford grasping at thin air.
WeAreBrighton.com Goal Player of the Season 2021-22 – The Results
- Enock Mwepu v Liverpool (A) – 34.43%
- Neal Maupay v West Ham (A) – 23.15%
- Alexis Mac Allister v Everton (A) – 22.70%
- Leandro Trossard v Liverpool (A) – 10.37%
- Leandro Trossard v Brentford (H) – 5.86%
- Neal Maupay v Watford (A) – 3.45%
Previous Winners: Danny Welbeck (2021), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (2020), Anthony Knockaert (2019), Jose Izquierdo (2018), Steve Sidwell (2017), Jiri Skalak (2016) Rohan Ince (2015), Jake Forster-Caskey (2014), Craig Mackail-Smith (2013), Inigo Calderon (2012), Liam Bridcutt (2011), Gary Dicker (2010).
