Celtic legend John Hartson was amazed by Javier Hernandez's header for Manchester United in their win at Stoke City.

The Mexico striker, unheard of when he signed for £6million in the summer, opened his account via his face against Chelsea in the Community Shield. But there was nothing unplanned about his beauty at the Britannia.

Hartson told the Daily Mail: "I scored different types of headers, but never one like that. The way he arched his back and neck to swing his head was impressive and something you can't practise.

"It wasn't the best goal I've seen, but certainly the most unusual header and an incredible piece of improvisation. He could have fallen over and looked a bit silly and I'm sure no one would have been surprised if it went wide or over the bar. To even want to try it was great - it is something that the likes of Fernando Torres might well attempt.

"To tell whether he can become as good, you can only listen to his manager and team-mates, and they are all saying good things about him.

"Hernandez has got a long future at United and there are one or two to get past in Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov, but he can become a regular fixture.

"There are too many great headers of the ball such as Mick Harford, Geoff Hurst, Alan Shearer to pick a favourite and I wouldn't compare Hernandez's goal to one scored with the forehead.

"A favourite that springs to mind was by Ryan Giggs when I was playing against him for Coventry. Manchester United beat us 4-2 at Old Trafford and Giggs scored the crucial goal with a powerful header from the edge of the area."