Southampton striker Shane Long has broken the record for the fastest ever goal in Premier League history, netting after just seven seconds in Monday's meeting with FA Cup finalists Watford.
The Hornets kicked off and played the ball back to Craig Cathcart, but Long chased him down and intercepted a pass, before calmly chipping the ball over the onrushing Ben Foster to give his side the lead.
0.07 - At just seven seconds, Shane Long's strike against Watford is the fastest ever scored in @premierleague history. Record. #WATSOU
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 23, 2019
Opta confirmed that Long needed just seven seconds to open the scoring, etching his name into Premier League history in the process.
The previous record had stood since December 2000, when Ledley King opened the scoring in Tottenham Hotspur's 3-3 draw with Bradford City after only ten seconds.
Since then, we have seen plenty of goals come close to breaking King's record, with many goals clocking in at earlier than 15 seconds, but King's strike had always proven too early to beat. However, 19 years later, Long has finally done so.
It was just the 32-year-old's fourth goal of the Premier League season, with Long having spent large parts of this season as a reserve. Ralph Hasenhuttl opted to restore him to the lineup on Tuesday, and Long certainly wasted little time rewarding him.
It begs the question - just how fast can someone actually score a goal?
Understandably, Twitter erupted with excitement as fans flocked to praise Long, who will now be a part of Premier League history.
If Shane Long scores every six seconds in a Premier League game, he would have 900 goals a game. And 34,200 in a season.
— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) April 23, 2019
My man Shane Long scored a Fifa kick off glitch. pic.twitter.com/eYW3xbE0Lr
— If Goals Were On Fifa (@IGWOF) April 23, 2019
No one:
— Matt Neuhausen (@mattneuhausen) April 23, 2019
Shane Long: pic.twitter.com/nHhLwVCsCT
BREAKING: Liverpool complete the signing of their Southampton academy player, Shane Long. https://t.co/mOzNhcc5bT
— Josh 〄 (@Josh_LFC4life) April 23, 2019
Nothing says ‘we’re just counting down the days until our FA Cup final’ quite like Shane Long scoring against you after 7 seconds.
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) April 23, 2019
Source : 90min