Alexandre Pato of AC Milan scored the seventh quickest goal in UEFA Champions League history on Tuesday at the Camp Nou in their Group Stage encounter against Barcelona. Not only that, but the goal is the quickest ever scored at the global giants' home field. The last time someone reached the ball before scoring a goal at the Camp Nou was back in 2004 when Marco Van Basten did so in the second minute of his team's match against the Spanish club.
Pato opened the scoring after just seven minutes when he managed to find the net with a superb shot from outside the box. Barcelona responded quickly though as Samuel Umtiti got his hand to the ball before it crossed the line to give the Blaugrana a very early lead. But despite the fact that they went down 1-4 at the end of the first half, Milan kept up the pressure and brought him off the bench just after the break. In the 57th minute, Pato came on and almost immediately scored when his shot was saved by Victor Valdes but the ball fell to him at the far post and he fired it into the roof of the net to make it 2-4 for Milan. However, despite this comeback effort, Barcelona proved too strong and won the match 2-4.
Milan will be hoping to continue their good form ahead of their next game against Liverpool on September 17.
Alexandre Pato's goal against Barcelona in 24 seconds is the quickest in Champions League history.
| Pos | Name | Time (secs) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Gilberto Silva | 20.07 |
| 3 | Alessandro Del Piero | 20.12 |
| 4 | Clarence Seedorf | 21.06 |
| 5 | Alexandre Pato | 24 |
Pato made his competitive debut on September 7, 2007, scoring a header in a 2-2 draw against Dynamo Kyiv. Pato's move to Milan became official on January 4, 2008. Pato scored his first goal for Milan against Napoli in a 5-2 home victory on January 13, 2008. He completed the season with 11 goals in all competitions.
Pato was part of Brazil's squad that won the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and played in every game during the tournament, including the final. The team also finished as runners-up at the 2009 South American Football Championship. Pato returned from injury in mid-2009 and scored four goals in six games before being sidelined again with another injury. He returned from this second absence in March 2010.
Pato has been selected by Milano United for their exhibition match against AC Milan on May 12, 2010. He is expected to be included in the club's first team squad for the beginning of the 2010-11 season.
Pato made his return from injury on August 26, 2010, coming on as a late substitute in a 1-0 win over Palermo. He scored his first goal back from injury three days later in a 3-1 success over Sassuolo. Pato ended the season with nine goals in all competitions.
Pato began the 2011-12 season well by scoring twice in the opening two matches of the season.
Goalkeeper Tom King holds the record for the longest goal scored in football history, scoring for Newport County against Cheltenham Town from 105 yards (96.01m). During the encounter on January 19, 2021, King scored directly from a goal kick. He had already been taken off after an injury and was replaced by substitute goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.
King's record has since been beaten by Jack Stamps of Aston Villa who scored with his head from 25 yards out during a match against Leeds United on May 20, 2015. The ball went into the net with 10 minutes left to play in the first half but was later awarded to Leeds due to an apparent handball by Villa defender John Terry.
Other records include: a goal in each half by Dixie Dean (West Bromwich Albion), Florian Lechner (FC Schalke 04), Maxi Rodríguez (Sevilla FC) and Zlatan Ibrahimović (Paris Saint-Germain).
In addition to these records, there are two other examples of goals being scored from outside the penalty area. The first one is Wayne Rooney's goal for Manchester United against Newcastle United on August 8, 2007; however, this was an own goal that was scored from within the penalty area.
Apart from Daei, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal is the only other player to have scored 100 international goals, as well as the first European to do so. On September 8, 2020, he surpassed the milestone by scoring a brace against Sweden in the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League. The match ended 3-1 to Italy.
Ronaldo is also the most prolific scorer in international football history, having scored 105 goals in 110 appearances for Portugal and Spain. He is also one of three players who has won the Golden Ball award twice, along with Lionel Messi and Gianni Rivera.
The next player to score 100 international goals will be either Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylian Mbappe. Both players are among the top goalscorers in international football history. Ronaldo has scored 105 goals in 110 appearances while Mbappe has scored 91 goals in 95 matches.
It is estimated that it will take another 10 years before someone else scores 100 international goals. There are several reasons why it takes so long to score 100 goals: many players retire before reaching this mark (especially defenders), some suffer injuries that end their career early, others lose form at an early age, and some even die trying to score a goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo currently holds the world record for most goals scored by a player in international football history.
The Top Ten Best Goals in World Football
Christian Benteke holds the international record for the quickest goal, which he scored 8.1 seconds into a World Cup qualifier against Gibraltar in 2017. The mark was also ratified by FIFA.
The record is particularly remarkable because it was scored at a time when there was no limit on players numbers, and the world's most famous football stadium was fully occupied by spectators. The record has been beaten since then, but it is still considered one of Christian Benteke's best goals.
There have been other quick goals over the years, but none that compare with the speed of Christian Benteke's strike.
The current world record holder is James Rodríguez who scored 11 seconds into a World Cup match between Colombia and Uruguay in 2014. That record is likely to stand for some time because there are no plans to reinstate the three points for winner after it was removed in 1994.
However, it is important to note that these records were not set in professional leagues but rather in lower league countries or at international tournaments. Neither player was able to reproduce such speed in later years due to fewer opportunities presented to them.
Furthermore, they were not only athletes but also had help from their teammates which makes their records even more impressive.
Thierry Henry (51 goals) is the national team's all-time top scorer. He is also the only player to have scored at least 50 international goals.
He made his debut on 16 February 1998 in a friendly against South Africa and scored his first goal eight days later in an Olympic qualifying match against Belarus. He won the Golden Boot at the 2000 Olympics as well as at the 2002 World Cup. After leaving Arsenal at the end of the 2003-04 season, he joined French club Paris Saint-Germain where he currently plays.
The next highest scorers are Zinedine Zidane (28 goals), Albert Camus (17 goals), Michel Platini (16 goals), and Francis Mouly (15 goals).
France has never had a female player qualify for the national team, but there have been several women's teams formed by French players or coaches. The first was the Football Federation Women's National Team which was established in 1971. They played in two editions of the Women's International Soccer Tournament before it was cancelled due to lack of interest from other countries. In 1977, the Fédération Française de Football created its own league with matches that included some foreign players.
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