It's not easy to stun the Portland Timbers fans into silent awe, but Columbus Crew SC attacker Federico Higuain did just that on Sunday with a remarkable bicycle-kick goal in the 68th minute of the clubs' season-opening clash.
It's not just the beauty of the shot that drew gasps, but also the set-up touch. Ethan Finlay's initial cross deflected and appeared to be floating behind Higuain. But the Argentine adjusted his body, got a touch on the ball, bouncing it straight down into the ground, and executed a text-book overhead kick past goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey.
Immediately, the Timbers Army behind the goal grew quiet, as eerie a sound as you'll ever hear at Providence Park. We imagine it was out of respect for what they had just seen.
And in the end, they had the final word, as the Timbers pulled out a 2-1 win thanks to a late winner from Fanendo Adi.
