Clocking in at just 6.2 seconds, AC Milan’s Rafael Leão has recorded the fastest goal in Serie A’s 122-year history.
Traveling to Sassuolo’s Mapei Stadium on Sunday, Milan went straight at the home side after kickoff with Hakan Çalhanoğlu carrying the ball forward. The Rossoneri No. 10 delivered a perfectly weighted pass for Leão, and the 21-year-old Portuguese forward put his name in the history books.
WILD!
Rafael Leão scored SEVEN seconds into the match pic.twitter.com/fsgBP3g6CD— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 20, 2020
The previous record was eight seconds, set by Piacenza’s Paolo Poggi back in 2001. How does this compare across Europe's top leagues?
Fastest Goals In Soccer: Europe's Top Leagues
Serie A: Milan's Rafael Leão (6.2 seconds vs. Sassuolo)
LaLiga: Valladolid’s Joseba Llorente (7.22 seconds vs. Espanyol)
Premier League: Southampton’s Shane Long (7.69 seconds vs. Watford)
Ligue 1: Caen’s Michel Rio (8 seconds vs. Cannes)
Bundesliga: Leverkusen’s Karim Bellarabi (9 seconds vs. Dortmund)
It’s fitting that Serie A now boasts the fastest of them all, as Milan’s decision to immediately send six players into Sassuolo’s half was reminiscent of the tactic made famous by Zdeněk Zeman.
Zeman — who pioneered a spectacularly aggressive form of football during stints with Lazio, Roma and numerous other teams in Italy — would frequently send eight players rushing into the opponent’s half directly from kickoff.
If your team doesn't start with this formation, you're doing something wrong.
Eight players on the line, two sitting deep.
