Mohamed Salah wins Golden Boot: Behind the records set by Liverpool star this season
As Mohamed Salah picked up the Golden Boot, take a look at the magic numbers behind Salah's stunning season.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has been the talk of the Premier League this season and he capped it off by capturing the Golden Boot and setting a new 38-game scoring record.
Nobody expected Salah to be such a success at Anfield after making the move from Roma last summer, but under Jurgen Klopp the Egyptian has blossomed into a goal machine.
Salah is one of the reasons why Liverpool are 9/2 second favouites behind Man City to win next year's Premier League title, while they still also could be crowned European champions at the end of the month.
Some of his scoring exploits almost defy belief - let's look at some of the magic numbers behind Salah's season.
Premier League records
- Salah beat the previous record of 31 goals in a 38-game Premier League season shared by Luis Suarez in 2013-14, Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007-08 and Alan Shearer in 1995-96. The outright Premier League record is 34, set by Andy Cole and Shearer in 42-game seasons in 1993-94 and 1994-95 respectively.
- Salah is the first African player to score 30 goals in a Premier League season.
- With Tottenham's Harry Kane also reaching 30, the feat has now been achieved 11 times in all by eight players - including Shearer three times.
- Salah is the first person to be named the Premier League's player of the month three times in one season, scooping the prize in November, February and March.
- Salah has also scored against 17 different opponents in the Premier League this season – no player has ever scored against more in a single campaign.
- He has scored in 24 separate Premier League games this season, also a record.
- With 10 assists as well, Salah is only the fifth player with 40 or more goals and assists combined in a Premier League season. Cole and Shearer managed 47 in their 34-goal seasons, Thierry Henry's 44 for Arsenal in 2002-03 is the record for a 38-game campaign and Suarez had 43 in 2013-14.
Liverpool records
- Salah has 44 goals in all competitions for the Reds, the most in a debut season for the club - comfortably beating the mark of 33 set by Fernando Torres in 2007-08.
- He would need a hat-trick in the Champions League final against Real Madrid to match Ian Rush's all-time record of 47 in a Liverpool season, set in 1983-84.
- His 32 league goals have seen him edge out Suarez for the most in a Premier League season for Liverpool.
- Salah and team-mate Roberto Firmino are the first Liverpool players to hit double figures in a Champions League campaign - they have 10 apiece in the competition proper this term and each added one in the play-off second leg against Hoffenheim.
- The Egyptian has scored in 34 different club games in all competitions this season, at least four more than any other player in Europe’s big five leagues (Edinson Cavani, 30).