There could be a holiday twist on the cards this afternoon as West Ham took a shock early lead against Premier League title race outfit Aston Villa. Unai Emery's Villains have been one of the sides of...
There could be a holiday twist on the cards this afternoon as West Ham took a shock early lead against Premier League title race outfit Aston Villa.
Unai Emery's Villains have been one of the sides of the 2025/26 season as we approach the Christmas period, with the Hammers having contrasting fortunes across what has been a campaign featuring relegation whispers.
But that could all change today, at least for a moment, after young Portuguese midfielder Mateus Fernandes bagged the opener inside the first 30 seconds of action at London Stadium.
That strike, his second of the league season, became the fastest goal scored in the English top flight less than 24 hours after Hugo Ekitike's quick-fire opener for Liverpool during the Reds' 2-0 win over Brighton yesterday.
There's another new fastest goal of the season... ⏱️
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 14, 2025
29 seconds is all it took Mateus Fernandes to score against Aston Villa ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/eT4QFbfJtz
Though his opener would go on to be cancelled out by a headed strike from Ollie Watkins on his 200th league appearance, could Fernandes' early goal be a sign of things to come from Nuno Espírito Santo's outfit?
📸 Justin Setterfield - 2025 Getty Images
Category: General Sports
