The Premier League players who carried their teams the most according to goal ratio

Which Premier League teams relied on the individual scoring exploits of one player more than any other?

When a player scores a high proportion of their team’s goals, it is common to hear the ‘one-man team’ criticism. The narrative goes that without that player, the fortunes of their team would take a nose-dive.  

Of course, that is oversimplifying things as often when a team’s most regular goalscorer is missing, others will step up but it is likely that the team will drop their level a bit as barely any team has a backup player who can provide the same level of output as the team’s most regular goalscorer. In that case, it usually requires a backup player to perform well, along with other players in the team providing more goals themselves. 

To give an example, in 20/21 Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Patrick Bamford were two of the players who scored the highest proportion of their team’s goals. Calvert-Lewin’s 16 goals made up 34% of Everton’s 47 goals, with Bamford’s 17 providing 27.4% of Leeds’ 62 goals. Both players missed the vast majority of 21/22 injured, causing Leeds and Everton to fight relegation most of the season. Everton only secured survival after their penultimate game of the season, whilst Leeds pulled off a final day escape act as they climbed out of the bottom three by beating Brentford as Burnley lost against Newcastle and were relegated.  

With that in mind, here is the list of the Premier League players who carried the weight of responsibility for their team’s goalscoring the most in 21/22: 

 

Teemu Pukki - 47.8% 

Nobody should be surprised to see Pukki at the top of this list. Without Pukki, it is genuinely hard to imagine where Norwich’s goals would have come from.  

The Canaries managed a pitiful 23 Premier League goals in 21/22, with their Finnish striker contributing almost half of those, with 11. That ratio is by far the highest on this list and is a key reason why Norwich were relegated in 20th place.  

 

Heung-Min Son - 33.3% 

In Tottenham’s case, the critique might have to be changed to ‘two-man team’ as they have two players on this list. The first is Premier League golden boot winner, Son. His contribution is even more impressive when considering that he hit that milestone without taking a single penalty.  

Son may have scored a third of his team’s goals in 21/22 but Spurs seem to be keen to add more to the forward line this summer to provide more scoring threats, as Richarlison and Raphinha have both been linked.  

 

Cristiano Ronaldo - 31.6% 

Notably, the narrative around Son and Spurs was very different to the one around Ronaldo and Manchester United. Alongside Pukki, Ronaldo felt like the individual who most carried the burden for bailing their team out in terms of goalscoring.  

The Portuguese has obviously been a freakishly talented goalscorer throughout his career but in 21/22 Manchester United were overly reliant on him as they struggled badly both under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick.  

There were a lot of questions around his contribution to the team outside of putting the goal in the net but when it came to that final action - as he did so 18 times - Ronaldo did not let his team down and he could have done with some more help from his teammates.  

 

Emmanuel Dennis - 29.4% 

Unsurprisingly, another of the players from this list comes from one of the relegated teams, as Dennis top scored for Watford with 10 goals, making up 29.4% of their 34 in total.  

Despite Watford’s relegation, it feels highly unlikely that the former Club Brugge forward will be lining up for the Hornets in the Championship next season, as he impressed enough in his first season in the Premier League that somebody is likely to take a chance on him.  

 

Wilfried Zaha - 28% 

Crystal Palace have been reliant on Zaha for a significant portion of their goals for a long time now and 21/22 was no different, as the Ivory Coast international scored 14 goals, making up 28% of Palace’s total of 50 goals.  

The London side have added Ebere Eze and Michael Olise in recent seasons, bringing the team more creativity alongside Zaha’s wing-play. However, they could still do with another regular goalscorer, particularly with their talisman turning 30 in 22/23.  

 

Maxwel Cornet - 26.5% 

Completing the trio of relegated team’s representation in this list is Burnley’s Maxwel Cornet. The former Lyon man had spent the last couple of seasons playing as a left back or a left wing back but he was used up front by the Clarets and he delivered nine goals, making up 26.5% of their total of 34.  

Unfortunately, there were not enough contributions from elsewhere, with January signing Wout Weghorst only scoring twiceand meaning that Burnley were pipped to survival on the final day by Leeds United. 

 

Raphinha - 26.2% 

It’s appropriate that the next player on the list is a Leeds player, as Raphinha’s 11 goals made up 26.2% of the 17th placed side’s 42 Premier League goals. That form has seen the Brazilian targeted by Barcelona, Arsenal and Tottenham this summer. Victor Orta will need to work hard this summer to replace his output, although a returning Patrick Bamford will surely be helpful.  

Importantly for Leeds, they also had another regular goalscorer in Jack Harrison, who contributed 19% of their goals with 8. It was Raphinha and Harrison who scored the goals to give Leeds the 2-1 victory over Brentford on the final day which kept the club in the top tier.  

 

Ivan Toney - 25% 

Stepping into the Premier League for the first time in his career, Toney scored an impressive 12 goals in his debut season in the league. That was enough to make up a quarter of Brentford’s 48 goals and helped guide them to a comfortable finish in the division, as they came 13th.  

The Bees may have trouble hanging onto Toney this summer, as his form caught the eye of many bigger clubs.  

 

Harry Kane - 24.6% 

Obviously, Kane is the second player on this list. Over recent seasons, he has become more and more of a provider, with Son stepping up as the more regular goalscorer but Kane has never stopped contributing goals of his own. This season was quiet from him on the goalscoring front but he still managed to hit the net 17 times, contributing almost a quarter of Spurs’ goals.  

Mohamed Salah - 24.5% 

Finally, the joint golden boot winner, alongside Son, was Mo Salah. Liverpool weren’t quite so reliant on the Egyptian for their goals as Spurs were with Son but his 23 goals still made up 24.5% of Liverpool’s 94 goals. Sadio Mane also contributed 17% with his 16 league goals.  

It will be interesting to see how the goalscoring will be spread amongst Liverpool’s forwards next season, now that the club have signed Darwin Nunez from Benfica and Luis Diaz will now play a full season having joined in January.