Hugo Ekitike's reign as the fastest Premier League goal scorer this season was short-lived.

On Saturday, the Liverpool striker scored just 47 seconds into the 2-0 victory against Brighton.

That was one of two goals Ekitike scored that afternoon.

But during Sunday's 2 p.m. games, Mateus Fernandes scored for West Ham against Aston Villa in only 28 seconds at the London Stadium, snatching the record.

The goal, 19 seconds faster than Ekitike's, is the quickest West Ham has ever scored in a Premier League game, and the fastest Aston Villa has ever conceded.

However, West Ham's lead didn't last long, as Konstantinos Mavropanos scored an own goal for Villa to equalise.

Jarrod Bowen then put West Ham back ahead in the 24th minute.

StadiumNest noted the flurry of early goals, saying, Just yesterday, we saw Hugo Ekitike score for Liverpool after only 46 seconds against Brighton. Now, Mateus Fernandes has beaten that by 17 seconds. West Ham United fans are very happy. West Ham has scored inside the first 15 minutes eight times this season, while Villa has given up a third of its goals in the first 15 minutes.

Fielden believes this will probably stand as the quickest Premier League goal this season.

Hugo Ekitike's Liverpool Record

The £79m striker is Liverpool's top scorer this season since his move from Eintracht Frankfurt.

He has 10 goals in 23 games, performing better than Alexander Isak.

In Premier League play, he's scored seven in 15 games, making him their best signing of the season.

After the game, Ekitike admitted he wanted more against Brighton: I wanted a hat-trick, but there'll be another time; two goals is still good.

Carlos Baleba has spoken out about whether summer rumours of a possible move to Manchester United have affected his play. There was talk that the Cameroon player might head to Old Trafford during the summer transfer window. Ruben Amorim was looking to reinforce his midfield. But United couldn't agree on a fee with Brighton, so the transfer didn't happen.

The Brighton manager thinks the United rumours had an impact on Baleba.

United were busy in the summer, bringing in Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko from Wolves, Brentford, and RB Leipzig to strengthen their attack. The Manchester team also signed Senne Lammens from Antwerp to replace Andre Onana, who was inconsistent and moved to Trabzonspor on loan, and Altay Bayindir in goal.

Amorim wanted to sign another central midfielder to support Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, who are the first-choice players. United tried to make a deal with Brighton for Baleba, but Brighton rejected their offer. They thought the price for the former Lille player, around £100 million ($134m), was too high, and no deal was reached.

Brighton has had a good start to the season. Baleba hasn't played as well as he did last season. Last month, coach Fabian Hurzeler asked for the rumours about the midfielder and United to stop so the player could focus on football.

Hurzeler said, It's about playing for Brighton, playing well, and helping him get back to his best. Ignore the rumours and focus on what you can control, which is football.

Baleba Claims He Felt Pressure

This season, Baleba has only played a full 90 minutes in one Premier League game and has been substituted at halftime four times. However, the player insists that the reports about a move to United are not why he hasn't played well.

Baleba told Sky Sports, I don't think it hurt me, but I felt a lot of pressure. At the beginning of the season, I wanted to play as well as I did last season.

I try to work hard every day to get back to where I was. Did I put too much pressure on myself? I think so, but it's okay. It's good for me because now I have to get through this tough time and keep working hard.

Baleba Isn't the Only Midfielder United Wants

Baleba might move to Old Trafford in January. United wants to add players to the midfield soon. The Cameroon player, who played his last Brighton game on Saturday before going to the Africa Cup of Nations, is not the only Premier League central midfielder United is interested in.

Crystal Palace player Adam Wharton is also wanted by United, but several other Premier League teams are watching the former Blackburn Rovers player. Elliot Anderson has also become a possible target for Amorim's team. But Nottingham Forest will not let the England player leave in January.

United's failure to add midfielders in early 2026 will affect Kobbie Mainoo's chances of leaving next month. Many European teams, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Napoli, want the England international. But United will not let Mainoo leave without a good replacement.

United Plays Again on Monday Night

United's next game is on Monday night at home against Bournemouth. Amorim has led United to two wins in their last three games. They drew 1-1 at home against West Ham between wins at Crystal Palace and Wolves.

With seven points out of the last nine, United is now three points behind the Champions League spots. They also have one game in hand on Chelsea, who are in fourth place.