Demba Ba's crazy Champions League kick-off vs Arsenal during 2014 play-off with Besiktas

The Champions League has witnessed some lightning-fast goals throughout its decorated and entertaining history.

On Tuesday night, for example, Dušan Vlahović wrote his name in the history books by scoring just 31 seconds into his debut in the competition with a fine finish for Juventus away at Villarreal.

The 22-year-old showed exactly why he’s one of the most exciting young strikers in the business by displaying supreme control and composure to open the scoring at the Estadio de la Cerámica.

However, while Vlahović’s strike for the Old Lady was most certainly impressive, it still didn’t lay a glove on the fastest goal to have ever graced the Champions League.

According to UEFA themselves, Roy Makaay is the proud owner of that particular record with the Bayern Munich marksmen having found the net just 10.12 seconds into a clash with Real Madrid.

Now, considering that the record has stood for almost 15 years and the time on the stopwatch proves so formidably snappy, it’s fair to say that it would take something pretty special to top Makaay.

But fear not, ladies and gentlemen, because although we can’t offer you a Champions League strike quicker than Makaay’s, we can give you the next best thing and it comes courtesy of a certain Demba Ba.

That’s because the former Chelsea striker came just a matter of inches away from blowing the Champions League record to smithereens during a qualifying play-off against Arsenal in 2014.

Donning the colours of Besiktas at the time, Ba made the remarkable decision to shoot directly from kick-off and his effort was hit so sweetly that Wojciech Szczęsny immediately had to leap into action.

In fact, if it wasn’t for the Arsenal shot-stopper getting a touch on the ball to help it on to the