The 8 fastest counter-attacking goals of the Premier League season so far – ranked

“Speed ​​is always important,” Thierry Henry, one of the fastest players to ever appear in the Premier League, once reflected. “If you combine it with power, precision and technique, it is unstoppable.”

At a time when coaches are spending more and more time and energy preparing their teams to dismantle the opposition through intricate passing schemes, a direct burst through the middle of a confused team offers a wonderfully refreshing alternative.

Pep Guardiola once praised the Bundesliga as the home of the world’s most dangerous counter-attacking teams, but a glut of Premier League teams has produced sequences of heart-stopping pace so far this season.

Time: 16.13 seconds
Adversary: Everton (August 17)

“Horrible” was the word Sean Dyche chose to describe the dismantling his Everton team suffered on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

Brighton cruised to a 3-0 victory at Goodison Park, propelled to victory thanks to Kaoru Mitoma’s tremendous opening goal. The Japanese international finished the play just 16 seconds after recovering the ball inside his team’s penalty area.

Time: 13.84 seconds
Adversary: West Ham (September 21)

The enthusiasm of West Ham’s recovery runs had begun to fade as early as the fourth minute of Chelsea’s trip to the London Stadium. Julen Lopetegui’s lackluster hosts were already 2-0 down and mentally devastated when Nicolas Jackson began his drive early in the second half.

Uncharacteristically turning down the chance to complete his hat-trick, Jackson slipped the ball into Cole Palmer’s path to put the final nail in West Ham’s coffin.

Time: 13.62 seconds
Adversary: Crystal Palace (August 24)

A brilliant finish to round off West Ham’s 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace was not the most admirable moment of Jarrod Bowen’s afternoon at Selhurst Park.

As West Ham players celebrated Tomas Soucek’s first game, an advertising billboard collapsed on top of a ball boy sitting at the side of the pitch. Bowen quickly pulled the boy out of harm’s way and gave him his jersey at the end of the game.

Time: 12.94 seconds
Adversary: Brighton (November 2)

Arne Slot’s record-breaking career at Liverpool has been defined by a more controlled and composed style. The Reds have slowed down the heavy metal of Jurgen Klopp’s iconic reign, but the old guard still know when to unleash a rousing solo.

Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead against Brighton at the end of a 13-second burst on the field, tapping his left foot and bending the ball into the top corner with a move Slot called the “Mo Salah special.” The Dutch coach rightly added: “It is not the first nor the last time he will score from that position.”

Time: 12.15 seconds
Adversary: Newcastle (October 27)

Cole Palmer won’t be credited with the assist in Nicolas Jackson’s first game against Newcastle United, but he deserves almost all the credit for the sweeping movement on the pitch. Breaking through the black and white striped visiting team with a flick of his left boot, Palmer almost forced Pedro Neto into a square pass for Chelsea’s main striker.

Palmer would score the winning goal, but it was his outrageous pass that Enzo Maresca described as “the reason people pay” to go to Stamford Bridge. “They want to see that type of player,” the Chelsea manager gushed.

Time: 11.11 seconds
Adversary: West Ham (October 19)

Son Heung-min was quick to scribble the exclamation point on a 4-1 victory, scoring the third goal of an eight-minute burst to sink a West Ham team almost ready to wither.

Tottenham’s counterattack to complete the second-half rout was watched by three West Ham substitutes who had also been waiting patiently on the touchline as Spurs made it 3-1 five minutes earlier.

Time: 10.6 seconds
Adversary: Brentford (September 21)

Brentford have been the fastest starters in the division this season. Bryan Mbeumo’s first game against Tottenham in this September clash was the second of three consecutive Premier League games in which the Bees scored in the first minute.

However, Spurs rallied to take a 2-1 lead before the break and sealed the three points with a quick counter-attack from James Maddison in the 85th minute.

Time: 7.75 seconds
Adversary: Brentford (25 August)

Arne Slot’s first home game as Liverpool manager featured an impressive counter-attack that Jurgen Klopp would have been proud of.

Mohamed Salah was the first to receive the second ball from a Brentford corner, forcing possession into the path of Diogo Jota, who showed enough patience before sliding Luis Díaz into the area. The Colombian striker was one of the first to benefit from Slot’s detailed training sessions and has praised the Dutch coach as “spectacular”. The same could be said about his goal.

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