Europa League's fastest goals and quickest hat-tricks
Sunday, May 7, 2023
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The fastest ever Europa League goal was clocked at 10.69 seconds back in 2016, while Patson Daka recorded the first sub-ten-minute hat-trick in 2021.
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Who scored the fastest ever Europa League goal?
Czech midfielder Jan Sýkora scored the fastest ever goal in the UEFA Europa League during the opening round of fixtures in 2016/17. The Matchday 1 fixture in Baku was a mere 10.69 seconds old when Sýkora struck for visitors Liberec – incredibly, it was the Azerbaijani hosts Qarabağ who had kicked off!
Sýkora broke the record of Vitolo, who put Sevilla on course for a 3-1 win at Villarreal in the round of 16 in 2015 with a goal clocked at 13.21 seconds. The previous mark of 15.19 was set by Argentinian Ismael Blanco for AEK Athens against BATE Borisov in the inaugural group stage.
Sýkora's goal fell just short of Roy Makaay's Champions League best. The Dutchman scored after 10.12 seconds for Bayern München against Real Madrid in the 2006/07 round of 16 second leg.
Fastest Europa League goals
10.69 Jan Sýkora (Qarabağ 2-2 Liberec) 15/09/2016
12.60 Eljif Elmas (Napoli 2-3 Spartak Moskva) 30/09/2021
13.21 Vitolo (Villarreal 1-3 Sevilla) 12/03/2015
15.19 Ismael Blanco (AEK Athens 2-2 BATE Borisov) 05/11/2009
16.88 Keita Baldé (Ludogorets 3-3 Lazio) 27/02/2014
Who scored the fastest Europa League hat-trick?
Patson Daka recorded the competition's quickest hat-trick in the 2021/22 group stage, netting three times between the 45th and 54th minutes for Leicester. Incredibly, it took a fourth goal from the Zambian forward 25 minutes later to seal the points at Spartak Moskva.
Fastest Europa League hat-tricks
9:34 Patson Daka (Spartak Moskva 3-4 Leicester) 20/10/2021
10:56 Claudiu Keşerü (FCSB 6-0 Aalborg) 18/09/2014
11:00 Diogo Jota (Wolves 4-0 Beşiktaş) 12/12/2019
12:27 Andrej Kramarić (Rijeka 3-1 Feyenoord) 23/10/2014
13:35 Steven Gerrard (Liverpool 3-1 Napoli) 04/11/2010
Daka also became only the fifth player to score four or more in a Europa League match, and the second fastest after Willian José, whose 'poker' came in the space of 26 minutes for Real Sociedad at Vardar in 2017. Aritz Aduriz is the only man to hit five goals in a Europa League game.
Most goals in a Europa League match
5 Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Club 5-3 Genk) 03/11/2016
4 Radamel Falcao (Porto 5-1 Villarreal) 28/04/2011
4 Edinson Cavani (Napoli 4-2 Dnipro) 08/11/2012
4 Willian José (Vardar 0-6 Real Sociedad) 19/10/2017
4 Patson Daka (Spartak Moskva 3-4 Leicester) 20/10/2021
