Remember when the Premier League Golden Boot was an ultra-competitive race? The top scorer’s award was shared between Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah in 2021-22, while three players finished the 2018-19 campaign on top of the charts with 22 goals. Just one goal separated the top two in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2015-16.
Then Erling Haaland came along. Last year, the Manchester City striker scored a record-breaking 36 goals in his debut season in England, obliterating the league’s previous record which had stood since 1995. He finished with six goals more than nearest challenger Harry Kane, the biggest margin between top-scorer and runner-up since 2014.
And despite missing almost two months with a foot injury which continued to hold him back long after returning to action, Haaland is set to win another Golden Boot this time around – and by another big margin. The Norwegian’s stonking display in front of goal against Wolves took him on to 25 goals for the season in the league, four more than second-placed Cole Palmer.
He has 36 goals in all competitions and there is a likely prospect of him taking that number to 40 by the end of the campaign, while yet again hitting the 30-goal mark in the league is not out of the question. And yet, there is a sense that Haaland’s achievements are no longer getting the full recognition they deserve.
