Lamela makes final three-person shortlist for FIFA Puskas Award

Erik Lamela has been named as one of three finalists competing for the FIFA Puskas Award following his astonishing ‘rabona’ against Arsenal last March.

Erik, now of Sevilla, having moved to the La Liga side in the summer after eight years in north London, produced the piece of skill to open the scoring at the Emirates, wrapping his left foot behind his standing right before drilling the ball into the far corner of the net to leave all watching in utter disbelief.

The second of two ‘rabona’ finishes scored by the Argentina international during his time in north London, having also spectacularly found the target with one against Asteras Tripolis in October, 2014, the strike claimed the 2020/21 Goal of the Season prize from the Premier League, BBC Match of the Day, the London Football Awards and our Club award, as voted for by Spurs supporters.

Initially nominated among a number of contenders for the Puskas Award, the goal is still in the running after the shortlist was whittled down to three finalists, with Erik joined by Patrik Schick (for Czech Republic against Scotland at Euro 2020) and Mehdi Taremi (for Porto away to Chelsea in the Champions League) in vying for the prize.

Should Erik win, it'll be the second time in as many years that a Spurs goal has been recognised in this way after Heung-Min Son was awarded the prize for his stunning solo effort against Burnley in December, 2019.

The FIFA Puskas Award is an annual prize given to a player from the men’s or women’s game who has been judged to have scored the best goal of the year. The winner is selected by an international jury comprising a panel of FIFA Legends and registered fans from all over the world on FIFA.com.

The winner will be revealed at The Best FIFA Football Awards in Zurich on 17 January.