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Praise Keeps Pouring In For Aaron Mooy's Premier League Wonder Goal

But Patrick Stewart remains mysteriously silent.
Getty (Mooy) and Reuters (goal)

It was the goal of the weekend. In fact Aaron Mooy's match-winning goal for Huddersfield FC is widely regarded as the goal of the Premier League season so far.

The strike itself? Immaculate. Pure class. A firm strike, lots of curve, perfect placement. Just beautiful.

But it's the lead-up to the goal which made this one so special. The ball was passed 26 times amongst Huddersfield players. Football afficionados will know that 26 also happens to be the number of passes involved in what's regarded as the greatest FIFA World Cup team goal ever.

Huddersfield is not the slickest, most skilled team in the Premier League. But the unfashionable, newly-promoted West Yorkshire club is definitely one of the best drilled and hardest-working. And no man works harder than Mooy, who ran more metres than any of his team-mates, and who featured in most of his team's attacking AND defensive highlights.

Mooy said all the right things in accepting the man-of-the-match award. He continually said "we" instead of "I" and talked constantly about how it was early in the season. "We can't get carried away, we've just got to keep working hard and trying to improve," he said.

But there's no denying the goal he scored was an act of craftsmanship. The really lovely part was when he pretended to wind up for a strike, only to dish off to his team-mate Elias Kachunga, who passed back. That's when the real strike came.

Former legend Thierry Henry -- now a TV commentator -- loved that.

Carl Recine / Reuters

"Thinking... magic... I like when a player thinks," Henry said in his characteristic stream-of-consciousness manner.

"When Mooy receives the ball, can I make you believe that I'm going to shoot? Yes I can. Ball goes to Kachunga, balls comes back. Use Clark as a shield. Go around him. Goal. Composure. Hear. Think. See. Execute. Go and get your ball back. Get your ball back. Bend it. 1-nil. Go and celebrate."

"The boss has a saying to have no limits, and we all stand behind that. It's only early but it's great stuff," Mooy said of the historic goal which was Huddersfield's first home strike in top flight English football in 45 years."

The only thing missing is for the club's most famous fan, Patrick Stewart, to boldly go and praise his team's fantastic start to the season. Perhaps he's in as much shock as everyone else.

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