There is no better feeling in football than your team grabbing a last-minute winner, but there’s also something really satisfying about seeing the net bulging early on.
There are plenty of goals that go in within the first 60 seconds after kick-off, though there are some strikes that are so quick that they make the 100m sprint record look sluggish.
Here are the six quickest goals in Premier League history:
Mark Viduka (v Charlton) – 11.90 seconds
The Aussie forward scored 22 goals in his debut season in England after making a £3.5 million move from Celtic, and he got Leeds United off to an absolute flyer in 2001, netting against Charlton in sub-12 seconds.
A long Ian Harte ball found the head of Alan Smith, who flicked it on into the path of his strike partner who coolly slotted past Sasa Ilic
The striker went on to become Leeds’ top goalscorer in the Premier League with 59 strikes before spells with Middlesbrough and Newcastle.
Christian Eriksen (v Man Utd) – 10:54 seconds
Christian Eriksen got Spurs off to a roaring start against Manchester United in 2018.
A long ball saw Harry Kane flick the ball into the path of Heung Min Son, who showed great awareness to backheel the ball into the path of the Danish playmaker, who stroked it past David de Gea with a first-time, left-footed finish in less than 11 seconds.
A Phil Jones own goal saw Spurs go on to register a 2-0 win at Wembley.
Eriksen has scored for Tottenham within 10 seconds pic.twitter.com/UNvgQBygoa
— Harry C 🎙 (@HazSpur92) June 12, 2021
Alan Shearer (v Man City) – 10:52 seconds
At some point, the former England striker has set virtually every Premier League record, and he unsurprisingly features highly in this category too.
The legendary goalscorer was capable of scoring all kinds of goals, be it long-range screamers or predatory finishes.
This effort in 2003 against Man City, however, saw the Newcastle striker close down Carlo Nash before rolling the ball into an empty net for what was, at the time, the second-fastest goal in Premier League history.
🗓️ Tarihte bugün – 2003
⚽ Alan Shearer gol atmak için çok beklemedi.pic.twitter.com/ZKHef1gS21
— Fanatik (@fanatikcomtr) January 19, 2023
Ledley King (v Bradford) – 9.82 seconds
Ledley King only scored 10 Premier League goals in his career – six of which were headers – but in 2000, the Spurs star cemented his name in goalscoring history when he scored the fastest Premier League goal of all time against Bradford City.
The defender – who did occasionally play in midfield – picked up the ball 30 yards from goal, before his long-range effort took a wicked deflection to beat the previous record of 12.16 seconds that had been set by Dwight Yorke in 1995.
9 December 2000 📅@LedleyKing‘s effort against Bradford City after 9.82 seconds was the fastest #PL goal…
…Until @ShaneLong7 struck in 7.69 seconds in #WATSOU! pic.twitter.com/FL7umnsPlg
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 23, 2019
Phillip Billing (v Arsenal) – 9.11 seconds
Top of the league Arsenal against relegation-threatened Bournemouth. It was the Cherries that looked like upsetting the odds, however, as they took the lead with the Premier League’s second-quickest goal of all time.
Phillip Billing’s goal after just 9.11 seconds put the Gunners on the back foot, before Marcos Senesi doubled their advantage as they looked on course to grab a much-needed victory.
Arsenal would however stage a stunning comeback, before netting a 97th minute winner.
😅 Ready to relive it all again, Gooners?
Step right this way 👇 pic.twitter.com/LxBjlhyWMm
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) March 4, 2023
Shane Long (v Watford) – 7.69 seconds
Ledley King had held the Premier League record since 2000, a record that nobody thought would be broken.
However, in 2019, Shane Long had other ideas when he netted the only sub-eight-second strike.
Closing down from the kickoff, the Irishman blocked Craig Cathcart’s pass, before racing towards the edge of the box and lifting the ball over Ben Foster.
Surely it’s going to be a long time until this one is broken.
The fastest goal in #PL history 💨
Take a bow, Shane Long 👏#GoalOfTheDay | @SouthamptonFC pic.twitter.com/iOg4ytWu8c— Premier League (@premierleague) December 30, 2021
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