In the Austrian championship round, leaders Salzburg and VB Linz met. The game ended in a 1:1 draw. Interestingly, the most memorable event happened in the 5th second of the match. Salzburg scored the fastest goal in the history of the Austrian Championship!
After the starting whistle, the hosts played the ball from the center of the field and passed it to the defender, who was unable to cope with the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper almost made it to the ball, but hit a Salzburg player, who immediately scored the ball into the goal. You can watch a replay of the iconic moment below.
However, VB Linz decided not to give up and equalized the score in the 12th minute.
Salzburg currently leads the championship with 41 points after 19 rounds.
20-year-old striker Petar Ratkov joined the club in the summer of 2023. He began his career at the modest club Backa Topola two years ago. In 2022, the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES) included Ratkov in the list of the 100 most talented players under 21 in 32 European leagues.
The Serb took 79th place. By the way, the rating was topped by Bukayo Saka from Arsenal.
In his first season in Austria, young striker Petar Ratkov scored five goals in all competitions, including a goal against VB Linz. He scored in his debut match against Sturm, but then suffered a hip injury and was out for two months.
After his recovery, Ratkov mostly came as a substitute, but closer to winter he established himself in the starting lineup and even appeared twice in the starting lineup in the Champions League. Ratkov scored in two games in a row, but, unfortunately, both goals did not bring victory to his team: Sturm equalized in the 80th minute, and BV Linz equalized in the 12th. As a result, both games ended in a draw with a score of 1:1.