Fastest goals in Premier League history
By Arasi Rex · Updated 9 August 2026 · 6 min read
The fastest goal in Premier League history was scored by Shane Long, who put Southampton ahead at Watford on 23 April 2019 after just 7.69 seconds. Long charged down Craig Cathcart's clearance straight from Watford's kick-off and lifted the ball over the Watford goalkeeper, and no one has scored faster since. It was a goal designed in the dressing room, not a piece of luck, and it ended a record that had stood for nearly 19 years.
The fastest goal in Premier League history: Shane Long's 7.69 seconds
The match was Watford against Southampton on 23 April 2019, a Tuesday night at Vicarage Road. Watford took the kick-off and played it back, as sides almost always do. Craig Cathcart's clearance was charged down by Long, who took a touch and dinked the ball over the Watford goalkeeper. The official timing was 7.69 seconds from the kick-off, 2.13 seconds faster than the previous record.
That record belonged to Ledley King, who scored for Tottenham after 9.82 seconds against Bradford City in December 2000, a mark that had stood for nearly 19 years. Long, asked about it afterwards, explained the routine: "The manager said to make a quick start and put them under pressure. Every game we try to force them into a long pass early and show intent from the first ball." The match ended 1-1, with Watford snatching a late point, but the record was Southampton's, and it has not been touched since.
The fastest goals in Premier League history: the full list
The Premier League's official top ten reads as follows:
| Time | Player | Match | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.69s | Shane Long | Watford v Southampton | 2018/19 |
| 9.11s | Philip Billing | Arsenal v AFC Bournemouth | 2022/23 |
| 9.82s | Ledley King | Bradford City v Spurs | 2000/01 |
| 10.52s | Alan Shearer | Newcastle v Man City | 2002/03 |
| 10.54s | Christian Eriksen | Spurs v Man Utd | 2017/18 |
| 11.90s | Mark Viduka | Charlton v Leeds | 2000/01 |
| 12.16s | Dwight Yorke | Coventry v Aston Villa | 1995/96 |
| 12.94s | Chris Sutton | Everton v Blackburn | 1994/95 |
| 13.48s | Kevin Nolan | Blackburn v Bolton | 2003/04 |
| 13.52s | James Beattie | Chelsea v Southampton | 2004/05 |
The only goal to have joined the list since Long's is Philip Billing's for Bournemouth at Arsenal on 4 March 2023: Bournemouth attacked down the right straight from the kick-off, Dango Ouattara crossed, and Billing finished from close range. Opta, the Premier League's official data supplier, timed it at 9.11 seconds, which put it second, ahead of Ledley King. A goalkeeper's goal worth remembering is Asmir Begovic's for Stoke against Southampton in November 2013, hit from inside his own box and timed at 13.64 seconds, which made the top ten in the list the Premier League published in 2019.
The rest of the list reads like a roll call of late-nineties and early-2000s football. Alan Shearer's 10.52-second strike for Newcastle against Manchester City in 2002/03, Christian Eriksen's 10.54 for Tottenham against Manchester United in 2017/18, Mark Viduka for Leeds in 11.90 seconds against Charlton in 2000/01, Dwight Yorke for Aston Villa in 12.16 against Coventry in 1995/96, Chris Sutton for Blackburn in 12.94 at Everton in 1994/95, and James Beattie for Southampton in 13.52 at Chelsea in 2004/05. One number in that list stands out above the names: eight of the ten fastest goals have been scored by the away team.
Why these goals happen: kickoff routines and defensive lapses
Fast goals are not accidents. The kick-off is the one moment in a match when the ball is dead, every player is in position, and one side can attack a defence that has not had a single touch. Most sides' first move from the kick-off is a pass back to a centre-back, and the press arrives with the ball.
Long's goal was the purest version of that plan. Southampton were told to press the first pass, they did, and the clearance fell for a striker who had already decided what to do with it. Billing's goal was the same idea with more ambition: one pass down the line, one cross, one finish, before Arsenal's midfield had touched the ball. That so many of these goals come from the away team makes sense, because the away side rarely gets the kick-off at the start of a half, so the routine is usually a press on the home side's first touch.
This is why the fastest-goals list should be treated as trivia rather than achievement. A 7.69-second goal says more about a kickoff routine than about a team's quality. Nobody would rank that Southampton side of 2019 anywhere near the great teams of the same era on the strength of one press; the goal is a coaching detail, a brilliant one, but a detail. The list measures a moment, not a club.
How kickoff restarts work
The kick-off is governed by Law 8 of the Laws of the Game. It starts both halves, both halves of extra time, and restarts play after every goal, with the team that conceded taking the kick-off. At the start of the match the referee tosses a coin: the winner decides which goal to attack in the first half or whether to take the kick-off, and the losers get the other choice. The team that did not kick off to start the match does so to start the second half.
For every kick-off, all players except the taker must be in their own half, and the opponents must stay at least 9.15 m (10 yards) from the ball until it is in play. The ball has to be stationary on the centre mark, the referee gives a signal, and the ball is in play when it is kicked and clearly moves. A goal may be scored directly from the kick-off, which is why a side conceding a goal can be behind again within seconds of the restart.
The kick-off has been part of the Premier League since the very first goal in its history, scored by Brian Deane for Sheffield United against Manchester United on 15 August 1992. Records like Long's depend on the same restart that produced that first strike, which is why the fixture list and the kick-off time matter to the teams chasing them down.
That is the full picture of the fastest goals in Premier League history: a record of 7.69 seconds set by a striker doing exactly what his manager asked, a list dominated by the away team, and a law that hands every side one clean chance to try it. The next record, whenever it comes, will be born from a kickoff routine too.
FAQ
What is the fastest goal in Premier League history? Shane Long's goal for Southampton at Watford on 23 April 2019, scored 7.69 seconds after the kick-off.
Who scored the quickest goal ever in the Premier League? Shane Long, whose 7.69-second strike for Southampton at Watford on 23 April 2019 broke Ledley King's record.
How fast was Shane Long's goal? 7.69 seconds from the kick-off, 2.13 seconds faster than the previous record of 9.82 seconds.
What was the fastest goal before Shane Long's? Ledley King's goal for Tottenham against Bradford City in December 2000, scored after 9.82 seconds.
Key takeaways
- The fastest goal in Premier League history is Shane Long's 7.69-second strike for Southampton at Watford on 23 April 2019.
- Long charged down Craig Cathcart's clearance from Watford's kick-off and dinked the ball over the Watford goalkeeper.
- Philip Billing's 9.11-second goal at Arsenal in March 2023 is second, ahead of Ledley King's 9.82 seconds.
- Eight of the ten fastest goals in Premier League history have been scored by the away team.
- Kick-offs are governed by Law 8: the team that conceded restarts after a goal, opponents stay 10 yards away, and a goal may be scored directly.