It was Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea who drew the first blood in the 10th minute, but Jahanbakhsh stole the show in the waning moments.
Brighton's Iranian midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh celebrates a draw after the English Premier League football match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Chelsea at the American Express Community Stadium in Brighton, southern England on January 1, 2020. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)
Brighton’s Iranian forward Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored a stunning acrobatic bicycle kick to hold Chelsea 1-1 at the Amex Stadium on Wednesday.
Jahanbakhsh joined the game in the 69th minute with his team trailing by a goal, but salvaged a point with an acrobatic strike six minutes from full time.
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The Iranian international winger has struggled since becoming Brighton’s club-record signing in summer 2018, but two goals in the past games suggest that the 26-year-old is beginning to find his feet in Premier League.
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Notably, Jahanbakhsh joined from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar for a club record fee of around 17 million pounds (about $22.5 million) in July 2018.
It was Cesar Azpilicueta of Chelsea who drew the first blood in the 10th minute, but Jahanbakhsh stole the show in the waning moments.
See the goal:
😍 No words really needed here, enjoy!#BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/BCxf9J8Def
— Brighton & Hove Albion ⚽️ (@OfficialBHAFC) January 1, 2020
“It was the best goal of my career, but we will have to see if it becomes the goal of the season, as there will be a lot of good goals out there,” said Jahanbakhsh as quoted by Brighton and Hove Albion’s official website.
“When I found out I was going to play in the last game, I had a good feeling because I had been training well. I had a feeling that I could have an impact in this game too, and when Dunky gave me that ball, I tried to hit it as hard as possible. The only way to connect with it was just to bicycle kick it, and it went in the right direction.
“It’s a great feeling to be involved in such important games and I’ve been working hard to get my chance. It’s been a very tough time for me, but I’m very glad to turn it around in a great game,” he added.
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