The ball struck by Riyad Mahrez from the penalty spot at Anfield in 2018 has finally landed back to Earth.
NASA confirmed the match ball had re-entered the atmosphere at 8.24am GMT and landed at a location with the coordinates of longitude 76.27 degrees west and latitude 3.10 degrees north.
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There had been concern about debris falling from the Nike Merlin but US Space Command said most of the ball had burned up when it re-entered atmosphere.
Astronomers had been tracking the ball since Mahrez sent it into orbit during Manchester City’s clash with Liverpool at Anfield in October 2018.
The Algerian’s 85th minute penalty skyrocketed over the crossbar into space with many observers mistaking it for a comet.
NASA launched a scathing attack on Manchester City over the incident, accusing Pep Guardiola’s side of reckless behaviour.
‘Premier League clubs must minimise the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of soccer balls’, NASA administrator Buzz Armstrong told Paddy Power News.
‘Besides, I still can’t believe they allowed a player who’d missed five of his last eight penalties to take it’.
I thought this Pep dude knew soccer real good?
‘Manchester Blues should fire his ass and hire Ted Lasso’.
With Liverpool welcoming City to Anfield almost three years to the day since Mahrez put the ball into orbit, players of both sides will mark the occasion by wearing commemorative Spock ears.
‘We’re showing love for Riyad and the wider Star Trek community’, Guardiola told PPN. When asked if the Spock ears might impede his player’s ability to hear in-game instructions, the Spaniard replied: ‘It doesn’t matter if they cannot hear me manically relaying instructions on the touchline, as long as the cameras can see me’.
It’s understood William Shatner will be a special guest at Anfield on Sunday with the 90-year-old dedicating a rendition of Rocket Man to Mahrez before kick-off.
**Unlike the Moon landings, Paddy Power’s breaking news coverage is 100% fake news. And that’s the truth.**
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