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6 months ago
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Moussa Diaby's goal against Wolves back in March has been officially recognised as the most powerful strike of the season.
His power-packed opener, against near neighbours Wolves, was named the Oracle Most Powerful Goal of the season based on the speed at which the ball travelled after leaving his foot - a staggering 68mph.
Oracle, the Premier League's official cloud provider, calculates The Most Powerful Goal awards, with only goals from outside the area eligible for consideration, with no deflections allowed.
The opener came after Diaby lashed into the top right corner from the edge of the box, the ball getting through four defenders on its way past the goalkeeper.
The French player got on the scoresheet in a tricky game at Villa Park, where the hosts were outperformed in terms of ball possession, accurate passes and total shots by their rivals.
Moussa Diaby's stunning strike against Wolves named the 'Most Powerful Goal of the season'
His decisive goal and assist gave the lead for Aston Villa in a tense encounter at home to Wolves
He later provided an assist for Ezri Konsa's second for the game, securing Aston Villa a comfortable lead that allowed them to reclaim the fourth place from Tottenham.
Such was the power of Diaby's winning entry that there was clear day light between his effort and second-placed Eberechi Eze's goal in the dominant home 5-0 win over Villa in Crystal Palace's final game of the season.
Diaby's thunderbolt led to Aston Villa's first win at home over Wolves since 2003, when a young Gareth Barry was among the scorers.
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil was quick to insist that his side were the better team in the encounter, hinting that a lack of quality at No 9 might have proven the difference between victory and defeat.
'The only disappointment was the result. Performance-wise, it was an unbelievable effort,' said the Wolves boss.
'We gave Villa loads of problems. If we'd had certain players, our expected goals would have been goals.'
Previous 'Most Powerful Goal' winners were West Ham's Said Benrahma against Crystal Palace in 2022-23, with 66.6mph and former Man City midfielder Fernandinho, who achieved a stunning 73.1mph strike against Leeds in 2023-24.
The second-placed in the ranking is Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze with a 107.17 km/h goal
The winger's strike helped Villa qualify for the Champions League for the first time since it's rebranding in 1992
Diaby moved to Villa Park last summer from Bayer Leverkusen, registering an impressive ten goals and nine assists throughout the season.
He was a regular starter for Unai Emery's Aston Villa, who qualified for the Champions League, for the first time since the competition was rebranded in 1992.
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