FC Fakel Voronezh midfielder Aleksey Mikhalev drove home an outrageous 60-yard free-kick strike on Sunday against Krasnodar in the Russian Cup, easily one of the most impressive goals of the summer.
What makes this goal particularly special isn't just the length of the kick, but the skill involved, as this wasn't just a dumb-luck goal that was just lofted skywards and then aided by the wind. Mikhalev noticed the goalkeeper was cheating off his line, so he quickly banged a vicious strike from great distance. The extremely long kick was perfectly placed and just beat the keeper, who then slammed the ball in disgust afterwards -- apparently angry with himself for giving his opponent any sort of opening, even from that range.
Perhaps even more impressive than the goal itself were the circumstances surrounding the feat. Fakel Voronezh is a club that's struggling in Russia's second division, yet the lightly-regarded minnows managed to pull off the upset over Krasnodar, a team that is currently in a rather lofty sixth place in the Russian Premier League.
Kudos to Mikhalyov for the wonder-strike, and to both he and his teammates for pulling off the impressive upset.