Shane Long Scores Fastest Goal In Premier League History

On Tuesday, Southampton striker Shane Long made history by scoring the fastest goal in a Premier League match. The Republic of Ireland international charged down a clearance from Watford's Craig Cathcart before splendidly dinking the ball over goalkeeper Ben Foster and scoring after just 7.69 seconds. It took the Tipperary man until January 12 to score his first goal of this campaign and now he has three in his last four games.

Long's strike saw him usurp Tottenham Hotspur's Ledley King who held the previous record after scoring 9.82 seconds into a game against Bradford City in the 2000/01 season. In international football, Belgium striker Christian Benteke holds the record for scoring the fastest goal in a World Cup qualification game, finding the back of the net just 8.1 seconds into a match with Gibraltar. Turkey striker Hakan Sukur scored the fastest goal in a World Cup match when it took him 11 seconds to beat the keeper during the third-place playoff against South Korea in 2002.