Scoring a goal is, as the old adage goes, the hardest thing to do in football.
Well, there are some players who have wasted very little time in putting that particular aphorism to shame in Premier League play.
On March 4, 2023, Bournemouth's Philip Billing shocked the Emirates Stadium with a goal against league leaders Arsenal inside the opening 10 seconds of the contest. After some initial dispute over the exact timing of the finish, it was eventually recognised as the second-fastest goal to be scored in a Premier League match.
Brentford have become masters of the early goal in 2024. After Yoane Wissa struck in the first minute away to Manchester City, Bryan Mbeumo did likewise at Tottenham in their very next game of the 2024/25 season.
Here, The Sporting News presents the top 10 fastest goals ever scored in Premier League history.
MORE: All the latest EPL club news | Team-by-team Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
Fastest goal in Premier League history
The fastest goal in a Premier League match was scored by Shane Long for Southampton against Watford on April 24, 2019.
The striker intercepted a pass from Craig Cathcart before chipping the ball over goalkeeper Ben Foster with just 7.69 seconds on the clock.
Long's goal broke the record set by Ledley King for Tottenham Hotspur against Bradford City way back in 2000/01. The defender's shot from 25 yards out deflected into the net after just 9.82 seconds of play.
Billing is the man who is second on this list, with the official time of his opening goal at Arsenal on March 4, 2023 given as 9.11 seconds.
Mbeumo (23 seconds) and Wissa (22 seconds) for Brentford do not make the top 10.
Top 10 fastest goals in Premier League history
| Time (seconds) | Scored by | Match | Season | |
| 1. | 7.69 | Shane Long | Watford vs Southampton | 2018/19 |
| 2. | 9.11 | Philip Billing | Arsenal vs Bournemouth | 2022/23 |
| 3. | 9.82 | Ledley King | Bradford vs Tottenham | 2000/01 |
| 4. | 10.52 | Alan Shearer | Newcastle vs Man City | 2002/03 |
| 5. | 10.54 | Christian Eriksen | Tottenham vs Man United | 2017/18 |
| 6. | 11.90 | Mark Viduka | Charlton vs Leeds | 2000/01 |
| 7. | 12.16 | Dwight Yorke | Coventry vs Aston Villa | 1995/96 |
| 8. | 12.94 | Chris Sutton | Everton vs Blackburn | 1994/95 |
| 9. | 13.48 | Kevin Nolan | Blackburn vs Bolton | 2003/04 |
| 10. | 13.52 | James Beattie | Chelsea vs Southampton | 2004/05 |
Why was the time of Philip Billing's goal at Arsenal changed?
Initially, Billing was credited with scoring the first goal of the match at around 11 seconds, which would have placed him fifth on the all-time list of the fastest Premier League goals.
However, that time was later rounded down to 9.11 seconds, moving him to second in the standings.
It seems there was some discrepancy between when the clock started, with the game kicked off following a slight pause immediately after the referee's whistle.
Opta, which provides official data to the Premier League, later confirmed the goal time as 9.11 seconds.
