The Premier League Golden boot is often considered the most prestigious award in English football and quite a few iconic names have won the top scorer award. Scoring goals consistently in the Premier League is a really tough ask and only a very few have managed to keep up their goal-scoring run season after season. Here we look at the players who have scored the most number of goals in a single season,
Note :- * indicates 42 games in a season
6. Cristiano Ronaldo – 31 goals (2007/08 – Manchester United)
Ronaldo started his Premier League career as a pure winger who whipped in dangerous crosses but he slowly developed into a consistent goal scorer. His evolution was complete in the 2007/08 season when he stormed the league with 31 goals in just 34 games featuring an array of amazing free-kicks, accurate headers and shooting with both his feet.
He equalled Shearer’s long-standing record of 31 goals in the 1995/96 season and became the first Premier League player to win the Ballon d’Or.
5. Luis Suarez – 31 goals ( 2013/14 – Liverpool)
Before becoming a Barcelona legend, Suarez made his mark as a diminutive but a very intelligent striker at Merseyside. Liverpool played an attacking brand of football under Rodgers and Suarez made the headlines almost every single week with some astonishing goals and tricks.
He scored three hat-tricks that season including a poker against Norwich City. Adding to his incredible goal-scoring tally, he also assisted 17 times in that season and finished with 47 goal contributions in 33 games.
4. Alan Shearer – 31 goals ( 1993/94* and 1995/96 – Blackburn Rovers)
A season after signing for Blackburn Rovers from Southampton for a record transfer fee, Shearer fulfilled his promise by scoring 31 goals. He repeated the feat in the 1995/96 season in lesser games. This was Shearer’s last season before his departure to Newcastle United and he ensured Blackburn Rovers’ fans will remember it for a long time.
He had scored 34 goals in the previous season and became the first player in Premier League history to score 30 plus goals in three consecutive seasons. He also provided 13 assists that season, thus contributing 47 goals in 35 games.
3. Mohamed Salah – 32 goals (2017/18 – Liverpool)
Salah endured a difficult start to his Premier League career at Chelsea and was subsequently loaned to Serie A clubs Fiorentina and Roma. Liverpool bought him for a club-record fee in the summer of 2017 but few would have expected him to become such a worshipped icon in Merseyside.
Playing in the right of a front three consisting of Firmino and Mane, Salah broke a slew of records and finally registered the most number of goals in a 38 game Premier League season. He also provided 11 assists, thus making it an incredible 43 goal contributions in a single season.
2. Alan Shearer – 34 goals (1994/95* – Blackburn Rovers)
Shearer once again finds a place on this list because of his contribution to Blackburn Rovers’ first and only Premier League victory to date in 1995. He formed a lethal strike duo along with Chris Sutton and together they ensured Rovers title triumph.
The title meant that Shearer had already cemented his place among icons of English football at the age of 25. This season would remain special for Shearer as he never scored more goals in a season and did not win the league title after 1994/95.
1. Andrew Cole – 34 goals (1993/94* – Newcastle United)
Cole’s name barely gets a mention these days among football fans but he was one of the most reliable forwards in the league at his prime. He is best known for his time at Manchester but in 1993/94 he set a goal-scoring record with Newcastle which has stood the test of time.
In 40 games, he scored 34 goals and provided 13 assists as Newcastle United took everyone by surprise in their first Premier League season.