An Egyptian goalkeeper has gone viral after pulling off one of the most astonishing saves in the history of football.

Mahmoud Gad, who plays for ENPPI SC, originally made a strange decision to come out of his box and head the ball away.

Unfortunately for him, the ball was volleyed back towards the goal by an opposition player.

Somehow, against all the odds, Gad, facing his own goal, was able to punch the ball over the bar.

It was an astonishing display of athleticism and one that has rightly been shared far and wide.

The skill and improvisation make it an utterly unique save and one that has been rightly applauded online.

“Extraordinary save,” tweeted the legendary Gary Lineker.

Gad’s save was on a par with Gordan Banks’s in the Mexico World Cup.

Banks leapt across the goalmouth to turn Pele’s header around the post in the first-round clash in Guadalajara. The miraculous stop was soon dubbed “the save of the century.”

In his tribute to Banks, who passed away on February 12 this year at the age of 81, Pele spoke about a “fine human being” and “a goalkeeper with magic.”

“For many people, their memory of Gordon Banks is defined by the save he made against me in 1970,” Pele had written on a social networking site. “I understand why.”

“The save was one of the best I have ever seen — in real life and in all the thousands of games I have watched since.”

“When you are a footballer, you know straight away how well you have hit the ball. I hit that header exactly as I had hoped. Exactly where I wanted it to go. And I was ready to celebrate.”