Bayer Leverkusen’s Alejandro Grimaldo: The best free-kick taker in Europe
Bayer Leverkusen’s Alejandro Grimaldo underlined his reputation as a free-kick taker supreme with another sublime effort on Saturday, giving him more such goals than any other player in Europe this season.
With Leverkusen losing 2-1 in Freiburg and the ball lined up on the edge of the D, up stepped Grimaldo.
The Spaniard placed himself at a 45 degree angle to the ball before striking it with such precision that he managed to beat not only the wall but Philipp Treu on the goal-line. Goalkeeper Noah Atubolu could only stand and watch as the ball hit the back of the net to make it 2-2, in what was ultimately a 3-3 draw.
Watch: Grimaldo nets an unstoppable free-kick against Freiburg
In doing so, Grimaldo moved ahead of Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai with his fifth direct free-kick of 2025/26 across all competitions, more than any other player from Europe’s top five leagues.
“The last two or three free-kicks I didn’t shoot well, but today I scored and helped the team, and that’s the most important thing,” said Grimaldo afterwards.
Three of the 30-year-old’s free-kicks this season have come in the Bundesliga, with the other two coming in the DFB Cup and UEFA Champions League.
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