The most impressive thing about Arjen Robben is that even though everyone—EVERYONE—knows that you can’t let Arjen Robben cut in from the right and shoot with his left foot, he still somehow manages to keep doing it.
Latvia’s defenders definitely knew. You can see the white-shirted panic as Robben takes one touch infield—one defender chases him desperately, two midfielders come back to try and block his path, and another defender steps out hoping to close him down. Even the goalkeeper readies himself. But it’s all too late. There was a millimeter of space they forgot to cover.
And so Robben, who’s actually facing the far touchline and not the goal, swings his hips and unleashes yet another left-footed rocket.
Robben did it again later in that same game. Once again, the defender is trying to send him outside and, when Robben cuts inside, another defender tries to close him down. But it’s too late once again:
The final score was Netherlands 6-0 Latvia, with Robben scoring twice and hitting the post twice. This tweet and image from Opta seems to sum up the entire game:
114 – Arjen Robben had 114 touches on the opposition half vs. Latvia; 12 more than the entire Latvian team. Menace. pic.twitter.com/vlaZAn7wE6
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) November 16, 2014