Johnnie Victoria
Premier League End of Season Leaders: Goals
The Premier League season has drawn to a close, but the content never stops! Here we are taking a look at the league leaders for each major statistic, starting with goals.
The Premier League season is over, but that doesn't mean we won't keep coming with the content!
Now that it is all said and done, we can look back at who lead the league in each statistic. That won't be everything we'll be doing until the new season starts, but it's a fun series to showcase who performed the best this year in each category.
And we're going to start with the most obvious one - top goal scorers. We've got the top 10 for goals this season here, so let's take a look at who they are.
=1. Son Heung-min - 23
Two players shared the golden boot this year. One won his third golden boot (second time sharing it), and the other is the first Asian player to win the Premier League golden boot.
Son Heung-min had a brilliant season this year, despite Tottenham's mixed fortunes. Ultimately it was Son's high level of play that helped them achieve a top four finish.
He went on a brilliant run towards the end of the season, too, scoring nine goals in his last 10 games, including six in his last five. That scoring flurry really helped him fly up the scoring chart.
Most impressively, Son scored all 23 goals from open play. Not a single penalty from the South Korean.
=1. Mo Salah - 23
As mentioned before, this is Mo Salah's third golden boot. The first came in the 2017/18 season, when he broke the Premier League single [38 game] season scoring record with 32 goals.
His second came a year later in the 2018/19 season, when he scored 22 goals and shared the award with his teammate, Sadio Mane, and Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Salah did have a big drop-off of goals towards the end of the season. He was comfortably leading the charts all season long, and had 20 by the 12th March. But after that, he really slowed down.
If it weren't for the one goal he got on the final day against Wolves, Son would be the sole recipient of the award this year.
But most impressively from Salah, he led the league in assists with 13. he comfortable takes the top spot for goal contributions.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo - 18
After his sensational move back to Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo had to remind people who the best to pull on a Red Devils shirt is.
In his first game back for United, he bagged a brace in a 4-1 win over Newcastle. After that, he was fairly steady with his goal scoring.
He had two hat-tricks this season, something that no other player was able to achieve this year.
He also only scored three penalties this year. A fantastic goal tally for the ageing superstar.
4. Harry Kane - 17
Tottenham's usual big hitter had a very slow start to the season, but when Antonio Conte came in, he became the usual Harry Kane almost right away.
It took him till matchday 8 to get his first of the season, the only goal he scored under Nuno. Then Conte came in, and, well, you can guess the rest.
Kane is a recipient of three golden boots already, and has a season high of 30 goals, which he achieved not in a golden boot-winning campaign, but in the year that Salah scored 32.
5. Sadio Mane - 16
Liverpool were top scorers of the league for a long time, and it is no surprise when you realise they had three players in the top 10 goal scorers' chart.
Sadio Mane is second on the team with 16 goals. He had a drop off towards the end of 2021 that saw him go seven games without a goal or goal contribution. But aside from that, he was fairly consistent throughout the year.
Mane got all 16 goals without a single penalty.
Mane has been an important part of Liverpool's success in the Klopp era, but his time in Merseyside may be coming to an end this summer.
=6. Diogo Jota - 15
The third and final Liverpool player on this list, and the first of three players who tie for sixth place with 15 goals.
Diogo Jota was brought in to Liverpool in 2020 and has been brilliant. He has transitioned to become Roberto Firmino's successor as the middle man in the front three, and he has taken to his new role fantastically. He is also still perfectly capable of playing out on the wing, too.
Just like his teammate in the entry above, Jota was able to get his 15 goals without a single penalty.
=6. Jamie Vardy - 15
Leicester's main man had a seemingly quite yet still productive year. We've come to expect 15+ goals from Vardy each season these days, but let's not forget, the man is 35 now. Just like Ronaldo, his tally is impressive considering his age.
Despite his usual scoring standards, the Foxes struggled this year, never able to get something substantial going.
It was surely a disappointing year for them, as many predicted they could again make moves up the table after winning last year's FA Cup, beating Chelsea on that occasion, and the Community Shield to kick off the season, beating Manchester City.
Vardy got all his goals from open play as well. After scoring eight from nine penalties last season, he didn't take either one of Leicester's measly two penalties this season.
=6. Kevin De Bruyne - 15
Kevin De Bruyne is and has been one of the best players in the world for quite some time now, but his late season pushed him into the conversation of possibly the best right now.
The four goals he got against Wolves in a matchweek 33 catchup game were important for City's eventual title victory, but was also one of KDB's best performances of his career.
Of course, that was just one of so, so many.
Best yet, he got his 15 goals without a penalty scored this year.
9. Wilfried Zaha - 14
Under the guidance of Patrick Vieira, Crystal Palace looked like a new team with a proper direction and one that could grow into something of a force in the league. Their victories over Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United and Man City are a testament to that.
Wilfried Zaha is their main guy, as he has been for pretty much his whole Palace career. This year was his most prolific season of his career, beating his record of 11 goals in a season which he got the year prior.
He could've actually had more goals. Zaha is Palace's primary penalty taker, and he scored five penalties this season. But he did miss two, so if it weren't for them, he would be in joint fifth on this list.
10. Raheem Sterling - 13
Raheem Sterling was Man City's top scorer for a big part of the season, but was overtaken late by De Bruyne.
Sterling's year wasn't one of brilliance, but more steady goodness. He had a hat-trick against Norwich and two braces throughout the year.
He got his 13 goals with only two penalties, but from three penalty attempts.
