The 8 quickest counter-attack goals of Premier League season so far

“Speed is always important,” Thierry Henry, one of the quickest players to ever grace the Premier League, once mused. “If you combine it with power, precision and technique it’s unstoppable.”

In an era when managers spend an increasing amount of time and energy setting their teams up to dismantle the opposition via intricate schemes of passes, a direct surge through the middle of a muddled side offers a wonderfully refreshing alternative.

Pep Guardiola once hailed the Bundesliga as the home of the world’s most dangerous counter-attacking teams, but a glut of Premier League teams have produced sequences of concussive speed so far this season.

Time: 16.13 seconds
Opponent: Everton (17 August)

“Horrible”, was the word Sean Dyche chose to describe the nut-and-bolt dismantling which his Everton side suffered on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

Brighton romped to a 3-0 win at Goodison Park, propelled to victory by Kaoru Mitoma’s blistering opener. The Japan international finished the move just 16 seconds after winning the ball inside his team’s penalty box.

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

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 lacklustre hosts were already 2-0 down and mentally shattered by the time Nicolas Jackson began his forward surge at the start of the second half.

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

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

A slick 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.

While West Ham’s players celebrated Tomas Soucek’s opener, an advertising hoarding crumpled on top of a ball boy sitting along the side of the pitch. Bowen swiftly whisked the child out of harm’s way and gave him his match shirt at the end of the game.