Watch: Tottenham scores 11 seconds into showdown with Manchester United
Tottenham came within one second of a Premier League record when it engineered a goal just 11 seconds into Wednesday’s crucial clash with Manchester United.
Spurs broke right from kickoff. Five players touched the ball. Only Jan Vertonghen touched it more than once. Christian Eriksen finished off the move with a cool finished past a helpless David De Gea:
Tottenham actually holds the record for the quickest goal. Ledley King scored 10 seconds into a 2000 game against Bradford City. Eriksen’s tally will rank among the five earliest in Premier League history, though.
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And while most incredibly early goals are either mistakes or flukes, this one is an underappreciated beauty.
In a way, it’s a set piece routine, executed to perfection. Spurs began with five players on the halfway line. Harry Kane actually got a bit of a head start, and was technically offside when Moussa Dembele played the ball back to Vertonghen.
Vertonghen went long toward Kane. Both Kane and Son had streaked forward. Kane challenged for the long ball and won it. Son kept running, and ran onto Kane’s flick.
And while Son did, Eriksen made an excellent diagonal run underneath Son’s. The deflection into his path was a tad fortunate. But the patterns and timing of the move were wonderful.
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Spurs went up 2-0 around 25 minutes later on a Phil jones own goal, and are in control of a back-and-forth game as halftime approaches.
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Henry Bushnell covers global soccer, and occasionally other ball games, for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.
