Liverpool Premier League record that left Arsene Wenger fuming finally broken

22 January 2024 , 10:16

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Oli McBurnie scored the Premier League's latest ever goal

Oli McBurnie scored the latest goal in Premier League history when he bagged Sheffield United's equaliser against West Ham.

The Blades' forward scored with the clock at 102 minutes and seven seconds as the relegation-threatened outfit rescued a late point. Mammoth amounts of injury time have meant that goals have been scored later and later this season, allowing McBurnie to end a 13-year record held by ex-Liverpool star Dirk Kuyt.

The Dutchman converted a penalty when there were 101 minutes and 48 seconds on the clock to earn the Reds a draw at Arsenal back in 2011. Kenny Dalglish, then in charge at Anfield, rejoiced as his side claimed a point at the Emirates but Arsene Wenger was fuming about the penalty decision and the amount of added time.

It put a huge dent in Arsenal's title challenge that year and the French manager made his feelings known after the contest: "We conceded a penalty after 11 minutes and the extra time was only eight minutes, I don't know where this additional time came from.

"The referee has not explained anything to me but I know it was no penalty. Lucas played in an intelligent way. He stopped [Eboue's] runs, Eboue wanted to go to the ball and he stopped him and referee said nothing. What can you do about it?"

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The Emirates Stadium had also been the venue for the third latest goal in Premier League history and the latest this season before McBurnie broke all records. Arsenal saw off Manchester United 3-1 back in September with Gabriel Jesus wrapping up the three points late on.

Dirk Kuyt had held the record for over a decade

The Brazilian's smart finish came with the clock exceeding 100 minutes. Jesus' strike was just six seconds later than Leon Bailey's, who scored for Aston Villa against Crystal Palace last year. The fifth latest goal in Premier League history came way back in 2011 courtesy of Juan Mata.

Chelsea's debutant made the game safe at Stamford Bridge after an injury led to a major delay with the game's minutes entering the three digit mark. An increase in added time came about initially during the World Cup in Qatar as the game's law makers attempted to increase play time and restrict the impact of time-wasting.

PGMOL chief Howard Webb previously explained: "You will see more time on the board usually because we are going to be calculating how long it takes from a goal being scored to the game restarting and how long substitutions take. Instead of using a general rule of thumb of 30 seconds like we traditionally did, we will be adding on the actual time that is lost through the events, including penalty kicks as well as red cards."

Samuel Meade