Since re-emerging on the Premier League scene last season, when he joined Liverpool from Roma for a then-club-record fee of €42m, Mohamed Salah has been nothing short of sensational.
In his debut season for the Merseysiders, he netted 32 goals in 36 games, a record in the division’s 38-game format. While he’s very unlikely to eclipse that total this campaign, Salah has not only provided many an assist for his teammates (eight in total), but he currently tops the list of Premier League goal scorers with 22, ahead of his teammate Sadio Mané, who has chipped in with 20.
He may not be in the running for the Champions League top scorer with just four goals, some way behind leading scorer Lionel Messi with 12; but Liverpool are the outright favourites in Betfair UEFA Champions League odds.
Can Salah make it back-to-back wins as the Premier League’s Golden Boot?
Salah’s red-hot form and record breakers
The Egyptian has been in decent form this month, with four goals in as many games, including a double against already-relegated Huddersfield Town. That was Salah’s second brace of the season, having previously scored two of Liverpool’s four goals in their 4-3 victory at home to Crystal Palace back in January. He also took home the match ball earlier this season, when he netted his first hat-trick of the campaign, in a thumping 4-0 win against Bournemouth.
In his debut season at Anfield, Salah became an instant success. He hit 20 goals in 26 games, becoming the joint-second fastest player to reach the tally in Liverpool’s history. In March 2018, he netted his first hat-trick for club, scoring four goals in their 5-0 win over Watford; while also amassing 36 goals in all competitions – breaking the club record for most goals scored. This in turn saw Salah become the leading goal scorer in Europe’s top five leagues that season, overtaking the likes of Harry Kane and Lionel Messi.
This season, Salah scored in Liverpool’s opening game, a 4-0 win at home to West Ham. While his goal tally hasn’t been as impressive this time around, he’s scored in back-to-back Premier League games on seven occasions.
In January of this year, Salah scored his 50th Premier League goal in the earlier-mentioned win to Palace and he reached this tally in just 72 appearances, making him the fourth-fastest player to reach the milestone, alongside Fernando Torres. The Egyptian recently made his 100th appearance for the Reds and having signed a long-term contract with the club, looks set to secure his legendary status next season.
The competition for Golden Boot
As we mentioned earlier, Salah is currently on 22 goals. His teammate Mané is on 20, the same as Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. As Liverpool and City take their thrilling race for the title to the final day, the trio of attackers from both clubs will also battle it out for the golden boot.
Prior to netting against Southampton at the beginning of April, Salah had suffered a six-match goal drought in the Premier League. While he’s scored at least once in every game since (bar the victory over Cardiff City), stats show that the Egyptian scores every 144 minutes, which is a better rate than Mané but nearly half an hour longer than Agüero.
The final league fixture sees Liverpool host Wolverhampton Wanderers and City travel to Brighton. Not only is it incredibly difficult to predict who will win the title based on those remaining fixtures, but equally as tight to predict who will end the season as Golden Boot.
He would be in good company
Should Salah win back-to-back Golden Boots, he will be in good company, alongside some greats of the game.
Kane was the last player to win the accolade on two successive occasions, netting 54 goals in 68 Premier League games between 2015 and 2017. Prior to that, Robin van Persie managed the feat from 2012 to 2014 while at two different clubs (Arsenal and Manchester United), scoring 56 goals in 76 Premier League games. In the early 2000s, who else but Thierry Henry won not only back-to-back Golden Boots, but also the European Golden Shoe. In 69 Premier League games, he scored 55 goals for Arsenal.
Should Salah win the Golden Boot again, he’ll surpass the tally of Anfield legend Michael Owen, who won the accolade in 1998 and 1999 with 36 goals in 66 Premier League appearances.
