A beautiful back heel pass from Raul Jimenez to tee up Andreas Pereira! Fulham lead at the Etihad in Manchester! Watch the Raul Jimenez back heel pass in the video below. People are already calling this back heel pass the assist of the English Premier season. If anything, it might be the only way to score against Manchester City – by surprising them.
A beautiful assist from Raul Jimenez to tee up Andreas Pereira! 🤩
📺 Peacock | #MCIFUL pic.twitter.com/lfZxgjwrOT
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) October 5, 2024
A brilliant no-look pass from the Mexican international pops up into the air for Pereira to score. He knows there are players making runs into the box, so he doesn’t need to look. Jimenez makes a great angled run into the box and quickly gets the ball across the end line. The back heel pass completely catches the Manchester City defenders off guard.
Incredibly, Jimenez suffered a serious head injury on November 29, 2020, during a Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Arsenal. The injury happened in the early minutes of the game when Jiménez collided with Arsenal defender David Luiz while challenging for a header. The clash resulted in a fractured skull for Jiménez, leading to an extended period of medical treatment and rehabilitation. He underwent surgery and spent months recovering before he could return to the soccer pitch.
While Fulham would go on to lose the game to Manchester City, they fought hard throughout the match. Even while playing as a forward, Jimenez hustled back to win the ball off of Doku in one moment. This game has shown that he deserves another chance to play for Mexico.
He’s only 33 years old. I’m sure like most Mexican players he wants to play in the World Cup that will take place in the United States and his home country. It is amazing how he has recovered from the head injury and is playing well once again. And that is why you often see him wearing headgear to protect himself.
Finally, maybe Jimenez will get another run with the Mexican national team. He scored off an genius bicycle kick against Panama sometime ago. But the way he’s playing for Fulham, he deserves to get called in for the team once again. Just a brilliant no look back heel pass from Jimenez.
