Who was the first goalkeeper to score in the Premier League?

The Premier League superseded the First Division of the English Football League (EFL) as the top tier of football in England in 1992. Since then, at the time of writing, six goalkeepers have scored in Premier League matches.

On February 21, 2004, Brad Friedel scored a last-minute equaliser for Blackburn Rovers against Charlton, only to concede a goal in stoppage time and lose the match 3-2. Three years later, on March 17, 2007, Paul Robinson scored for Tottenham Hotspur from fully 80 yards in a 3-1 win over Watford at White Hart Lane and, on January 4, 2012, Tim Howard scored for Everton from inside his own area with a bizarre, wind-assisted clearance that bounced over Bolton Wanderers’ goalkeeper Adam Bognan.

The following year, on November 13, 2013, Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic opened the scoring after just 13 seconds of a Premier League clash with Southampton, with another windswept effort that bounced over opposite number Artur Boruc and, in fact, was officially registered by Guinness World Records. Last, but by no means least, on May 16, 2021, Alisson Becker scored a dramatic late winner for Liverpool against West Bromwich Albion, having come up for a corner deep into stoppage time.

The first goalkeeper to score in the Premier League, though, was former Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel, not during his halcyon days with the Red Devils but, rather, on his return to England, after a two-year hiatus, with Aston Villa during the 2001/02 campaign. On October 20, 2001, with his side trailing 3-1 to Everton at Goodison Park, Schmeichel came up for a corner in stoppage time and scored what turned out to be just a consolation goal for the visitors, courtesy of a powerful right-footed volley from close range.