Former Liverpool favourite recalls his dream goal against Manchester United

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There are few more iconic goals in Premier League history than John Arne Riise’s net-tearer against Liverpool’s traditional rivals.

Former Liverpool full-back John Arne Riise has admitted to Sky Sports that his thunderbolt free-kick against North West rivals Manchester United in 2001 came to define his career in English football.

Then-boy-wonder Michael Owen had already given the Merseyside giants the lead at Anfield just seven minutes before Dietmar Hamman teed up the Norwegian flyer for an ambitious attempt from 25 yards.

What followed has gone down in history as one of the most infamous free-kicks in the Premier League era, Riise exploding a left-footed rocket into the top corner with United goalkeeper Fabian Barthez reduced to a watching brief.

And, ahead of Monday night’s titanic clash, the former Liverpool favourite admits that he is still frequently reminded about the goal that cemented his place in Anfield folklore a matter of months after arriving as a relative unknown from Monaco.

“It was just one of those times when things just went the way you hoped they would,” Riise explained to Sky Sports. “I could never have dreamed of scoring that kind of goal”

“It was the first time I’d played against Manchester United, a team that had David Beckham and all of their big boys in it. I just told Didi Hamann to push the ball one-and-a-half yards and I smashed it. I didn’t even feel like I’d hit it but 15 years later I still get asked about it.

“I used to spend five or six hours a day practising my shooting technique when I was young so it didn’t come for free but sometimes things are just meant to be.

“It was a good goal, it’s followed me around ever since and it put me straight into the hearts of the fans.”

Since his departure in 2008, Liverpool have traditionally struggled for quality on the left-flank, with neither Fabio Aurelio, Jose Enrique, Emiliano Insua or Alberto Moreno coming close to Riise in terms of popularity or reliability.

Consequently, the ever-versatile James Milner can lay claim to be the finest left-back to don the famous red this decade, combining typical defensive durability with the willingness and the energy to support the attack effectively.