Ismaïla Sarr got Crystal Palace off to the perfect start in their UEFA Conference League semifinal against Shakhtar Donetsk, netting the fastest goal in the competition’s history.
The Senegal striker scored just 21 seconds into Thursday’s first leg, being played in Krakow, Poland, to put the away side in front.
That time easily eclipsed the previous mark of 32 seconds, set by Ferdy Druijf for Rapid Vienna against Vitesse Arnhem in 2022.
The Conference League was established in 2021 as UEFA’s new third-tier competition.
Sarr’s strike was still someway short of matching the record in Europe’s top competition, the Champions League, with Roy Makaay finding the net after just 10.12 seconds for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid in 2007.
The fastest Europa League goal is not far behind, at 10.69 seconds by Liberec’s Jan Sýkora against Qarabag in 2016.
Palace are playing in a major European competition for the first time, having gained qualification by winning the FA Cup last season.
