Erling Haaland: Five highest one-season goal tallies that City man will be chasing

Erling Haaland has made a record breaking start to life in the Premier League, scoring ten goals in his first six matches. 

The Manchester City star scored back-to-back hat tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, and has also netted against West Ham United, Newcastle United and Aston Villa this term.

If the Norwegian were to continue scoring at the same rate, he would finish the campaign with 63 Premier League goals and, although that may be far fetched, the forward will undoubtedly have the record for most goals in one season firmly in his sights.

Here, we take a look at the five players with the most goals in one single Premier League season. While both Andy Cole and Alan Shearer scored a remarkable 34 goals – in 1993/94 and 1994/95 respectively – both of those efforts were during a 42-game campaign. Here, we look back at the most goals in a 38-game season.

1. Mohamed Salah: 2017/18 – 32 goals

Salah has three Premier League golden boot awards to his name

Mohamed Salah returned to the Premier League in the summer of 2017 and, in his first season back, the Egyptian netted a remarkable 44 goals across all competitions, including a record-breaking 32 in the league. The ex-Chelsea man’s haul still stands as the most in a single 38-game season, however the 30-year-old also managed 22 goals in both the 2018/19 and 2020/21 campaigns, before scoring 23 times last term. The three-time Premier League golden boot winner has 122 goals to his name in the competition.

=2. Luis Suarez: 2013/14 – 31 goals

Prior to Salah’s record-breaking season, fellow Liverpool icon Luis Suarez was one of three players to have scored 31 times in a single season. The Uruguayan was in sensational form for The Reds throughout that particular campaign, scoring in 18 of his 33 league appearances. Liverpool mounted a serious title charge that term, spearheaded by Suarez, but Brendan Rodgers’ side ultimately fell just short of securing their first ever Premier League crown. Suarez departed Liverpool in the summer of 2014, boasting a record of 69 goals in 110 league games.

=2 Cristiano Ronaldo: 2007/08 – 31 goals

Ronaldo won the golden boot during the 2007/08 season

Cristiano Ronaldo became the most expensive player in football history when he made the move from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009, but it was the 2007/08 campaign that was arguably the Portuguese’s most impressive in a United shirt. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored 42 goals in all competitions that season, including 31 in the league. His goal scoring record actually improved once he left Old Trafford, but he still manager to net 18 times in 30 league games upon his return to England last year.

=2. Alan Shearer: 1995/96 – 31 goals

As mentioned, the Premier League’s all time top goal scorer netted 34 times in the 1994/95 season, but he also enjoyed a record breaking campaign in 1995/96. His 31-goal haul was a record at the time and, while both Ronaldo and Suarez equalled it, it wasn’t until Salah’s 32-goal season more than two decades later that Shearer’s effort was beaten. The ex-England international’s 260 career Premier League goals will take some beating, though.

5. Harry Kane: 2017/18 – 30 goals

Kane has 188 goals in 288 Premier League matches

Kane’s tally of 30 would have been enough to win the golden boot in 24 of the 30 Premier League seasons to date, but Salah’s remarkable tally of 32 pipped him to the accolade in 2018. The Tottenham Hotspur man has scored at least 20 league goals in five of the last seven seasons, but his tally in 2017/18 remains his best effort yet. The England captain has five goals in six games so far this term, though, so is well on course to beat his own record by May.