The quickest off the bench

The second-half substitutes transformed the game for Athletic Club against Sevilla FC on Saturday. With the lions a goal behind, two of the changes made by manager Gaizka Garitano inspired Athletic to a memorable comeback in the last 15 minutes. Iker Muniain got the equaliser in 76th minute and Oihan Sancet scored the winner with less than five minutes to go.

Sancet’s introduction was particularly striking. The young midfielder was alert enough to complete the comeback despite having only been on the pitch for 47 seconds. In fact, Oihan hit the back of the net with his first touch off the ball, getting on the end of Iñaki Williams’ cross.

What’s more, Sancet’s goal isn’t the only one of its kind. Over the past 10 years, five other Athletic players have scored within a minute of coming off the bench during a LaLiga match.

The following video shows the goals scored by Fernando Llorente, Ibai Gómez, Guillermo, Kenan Kodro, Aritz Aduriz and Sancet, a select group of super subs who only needed a minute to get on the scoresheet after being brought on as subsitutes. Furthermore, on every such occasion, Athletic picked up at least a point from the fixture, managing two draws and four victories.

We begin with Fernando Llorente and his goal against RCD Espanyol at Cornellà in the 2012-13 season. The target-man replaced Isma López in the 69th minute and struck the back of the net in the 70th.

Two touches of the ball were all Ibai Gómez needed to beat Real Madrid keeper Diego López at San Mamés in 2013-14. Athletic were trailing 0-1 when, in the 73rd minute, Ibai entered the field of play. With his first touch, he swung a freek-kick into the box. It was headed straight back into his path and in the 74th minute he fired the ball into the bottom-right corner.

Three matchweeks later, Guillermo netted a goal within a minute of coming on against Real Betis at the Benito Villamarín. The striker took to the pitch in the 79th minute and scored a header in the 80th.

Kenan Kodro joined this curious list in 2018-19 when the lions beat Atletico de Madrid 2-0 at San Mamés. He replaced Raul Garcia in the 85th minute and before the clock moved he finished off a counter-attack to score the lions’ second of the game.

Aduriz‘s now legendary goal against FC Barcelona in the LaLiga 2019-20 opener also forms part of this list. The no.20’s iconic bicycle-kick goal came within one minute of his introduction at San Mamés that evening. Aduriz replaced Iñaki Williams in the 87th minute and scored his last Athletic goal in the 88th.