goal from nothing

[Kontol]

What does "nothing" actually mean in this sentence?

GOAL! WEST HAM 3-2 LIVERPOOL (Origi, 83)
A goal from nothing! The loose ball comes to Origi and he swivels brilliantly before firing low into the corner with his left foot. Game on!

 

[emsr2d2]

It means that it didn't look like anyone was going to score in the immediate leadup to the goal. It came as a surprise.

 

[jutfrank]

There's a kind of semi-technical answer to this too. The phrase 'from nothing' means the goal was not the result of a 'chance', which is one of the statistics measuring gameplay.