The shot was not on. No one in their right mind would even attempt it - and most wouldn't. The statisticians would later quantify this as 0.005 xG - meaning if you attempted the shot 199 times, it would not go in. The 200th time?
Federico Dimarco's long-range strike from 56 metres out on the left touchline went in, handing Inter Milan a first-half lead, and eventually, a win against Frosinone that saw them top the Serie A table.
Yet for the league leaders, things weren't as rosy as the clock ticked over to 42 minutes, the frustrations in the crowd at the San Siro growing with each passing second. Frosinone, back in Serie A after four years, and the league's surprise package this season under Eusebio di Francesco, had kept Inter's attacking talent at bay for much of the first half and had even caused some concerns of their own. The stop-start nature of the game was foremost in people's minds as Dimarco picked up the ball deep in his own half, on the left touchline.
A first-time pass to Hakan Calhanoglu, and Inter's transition had begun. Dimarco, as his role as a left wing-back implies, made a beeline towards the other half, waiting for the ball. Yet, Frosinone had intercepted and subsequently lost the ball within two seconds as Dimarco bombed forward. Henrikh Mkhitaryan had collected Enzo Barrenechea's loose pass and steadied himself, before playing the ball forward to Dimarco.
Inter's 26-year-old defender was about 10 yards behind the half-way line when Mkhitaryan made his pass and allowed the ball to drift forward, wrong-footing Pol Lirola coming over to mark him. Dimarco had edged away from Lirola, but as he looked at his options, there was precious little. Denzel Dumphries had burst through the middle and could have run through on goal, but it would require a pass of Messi-esque proportions.
If anyone in the Inter team could pull it off however, it would be Dimarco, the most creative defender in Serie A. Only four players, all midfielders, have created more chances than him this season, while Dimarco also leads the xAssist charts for the league.
And yet, while the whole world was expecting a pass, Dimarco's eyes caught Frosinone goalkeeper Stefano Turati a few yards off his line. It wasn't a massive gap -- Turati wasn't channeling his inner Andre Onana at all -- a measured lob could be dealt with. But Dimarco has a penchant for the spectacular, in contrast with his humble beginnings as the child of fruit and vegetable grocers in Milan's Porta Romana district.
His goal earlier this season against Empoli was as pure a volley as ever, earning comparisons with Benjamin Pavard's famous World Cup strike for France. So of course, Dimarco would back himself to find the net.
Eyes on the ball, which he had yet to touch after Mkhitaryan had passed it forward, Dimarco let fly from 61 yards out, right on the left touchline. The strike had a fair bit of pace to it in addition to its elevation -- this wasn't a loopy lob by any means. Two seconds was all it took for the ball to arc over Turati and into the net, leaving the San Siro stunned speechless for half a second, before the crowd erupted in a mixture of joy and amazement.
Yann Sommer, in the Inter goal, had his hands on his head in sheer disbelief at what he had witnessed. Dimarco meanwhile, wasn't even on the pitch when his strike went in, the inertia of attempting that shot sending him the wrong side of the touchline. As the ball nestled in the net, Dimarco's casual jog and celebratory pose did little to capture a strike that will surely be in contention for the Puskas award.
Dimarco was a seven-year-old when he joined Inter's academy and after making his debut at 17 and a few loan spells, was sold to Sion in the Swiss league. He returned to the club and eventually worked his way into the first team, where he is now the best left wing-back in the league. It was no wonder that Dimarco was reflective of his career when celebrating on social media after the game. "This shot began at Porta Romana, passed through Interello (Inter's academy), Ascoli, Empoli, Sion, Parma, Verona before arriving in the stadium of my dreams."
Quite the career arc for that boy who grew up 15 minutes from the San Siro and is now etching his name into that hallowed pitch, one wondergoal at a time.