Anyone in attendance of Nike’s inaugural ‘Strike Night’ event in London last year was given a treat.
It featured some of the biggest names in Europe going head-to-head in a competition to crown the ‘ultimate finisher’.
The headline on Nike’s Facebook page reads: ‘Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang vs Christian Benteke vs Mauro Icardi vs Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain vs Alex Iwobi vs Andre Silva’.
And that is pretty much what the night entailed. The players were drawn against each other and they would attempt to get more points than their opponent by scoring the flashier goal.
Each player was given five opportunities to score. Their attempts were judged by Ian Wright and Didier Drogba, who could award more points if they were impressed with a player’s tricks.
The victor would move on the next round until a winner was announced.
We won’t spoil the outcome for you. The event made for great viewing - during a match, players can’t always showcase their skills, but that wasn’t the case last night - and Thibaut Courtois was in goal for the final, so you know the winner deserved their victory.
Watch the entire event in the video below.
Watch: Nike's Strike Night event
Andre Silva was the winner
So, Porto and Portugal striker Andre Silva emerged victorious. The 21-year-old beat Marcus Rashford in the final, making full use of the extra points available in the final round by scoring an acrobatic effort against the Chelsea goalkeeper.
Silva put on a quality show, it must be said. His best performance came in the semi-final against Inter Milan’s Icardi, where he scored a stunning volley.
Rashford beat Aubameyang
Manchester United’s Rashford pulled off something of an upset by beating Aubameyang in his semi-final.
The 19-year-old arrived late to the event, but showed he was deserving of a place in the final with a 1450-400 victory over the Borussia Dortmund striker.
Full results:
Here’s how the evening unfolded: