Liverpool striker and a huge sensation last season, Mohamed Salah is looking to defend his title as the top scorer in EPL from last season, when he scored 32 goals, which set a new EPL record. But as it seems, Salah won’t have an easy time retaining the title with all the great strikers also chasing the same goal; The 2018/19 EPL Golden boot.
The fight for 2018/19 season EPL Golden boot is heating up, with top 6 strikers only separated by 3 goals. As of now, the leading scorer is Sergio Aguero, who netted a total of 18 goals to which he added 6 assists and is well on his way to his 2nd EPL Golden Boot. But he is not alone in the race. As of now, Aguero is closely followed by last season Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sadio Mane, and 2015-2017 golden boot winner Harry Kane all just a goal behind the Argentinian.
At the start of this season, the last season Golden Boot winner, Mohamed Salah managed to produce goals on daily basis, even netting a hat trick against Bournemouth on August 12th, but slowly he has cooled down. Salah who has been a very good striker at the start of this season has only managed to score one goal since the start of February, which is not too promising for him and his potential 2nd Golden Boot award. The same can not be said for Spurs star Harry Kane, who has won the Golden Boot for two consecutive seasons and is looking towards his 3rd award, which he just might win. Despite the injury he suffered in February, which set him back in the Golden Boot race, as he had to miss 4 fixtures, Harry Kane returned on the pitch quicker than expected. And not only has he returned after just 4 rounds, but Kane also managed to score 3 goals in the last 4 fixtures, which sets him up nicely to catch up to Aguero. Then there is also the Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who just like Kane and Salah holds 17 goals. Aubameyang has been the driving force in Arsenal this season, who are now chasing the top 4 spots in the EPL, which would return them to Champions League tournament next season, so it should not come off as a surprise he is among the top 4 goal scorers. While those are the top 4 contenders, we need to check out the remaining players, starting off with Sadio Mane, the Liverpool winger who climbed his way to the top strikers with 2 goals against Burnley on March 10th. Much like Mane, Raheem Sterling managed to join the race with a hat-trick goal against Watford, which was his first goal after 2 he scored against Chelsea on February 10th. Further down, we have got Eden Hazard with 13, and Alexandre Lacazette, Romelu Lukaku, Raul Jimenez and Jamie Vardy all with 12.
With plenty of players still in the race for 2018/19 Golden boot, let’s check the chart of top 10 goal scorers.
Player | Goals | Assists | Min/Goal | Total Shots | Shots on goal | % on goal |
Sergio Aguero |
18 |
6 |
107 |
73 | 37 |
51% |
Mohamed Salah |
17 |
7 | 150 | 75 | 48 |
64% |
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang |
17 |
4 | 130 | 56 | 31 |
55% |
Harry Kane |
17 |
4 | 132 | 72 | 43 |
60% |
Sadio Mane |
17 |
1 | 148 | 56 | 33 |
59% |
Raheem Sterling |
15 |
9 | 143 | 42 | 32 |
76% |
Eden Hazard |
13 |
11 | 173 | 43 | 33 |
77% |
Alexandre Lacazette |
12 |
7 | 165 | 52 | 25 |
48% |
Raul Jimenez |
12 |
6 | 206 | 72 | 32 |
44% |
Jamie Vardy |
12 |
4 | 168 | 49 | 29 |
59% |
For me, there are two players that stand out. Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane.
Mohamed Salah, while holding 17 goals seems to have fallen into slumber as he has only managed to score one goal since January 19th and is as of now scoreless in the last 4 games. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang much like Salah slowed down his scoring compared to 2 months ago, which is why I would not consider being on the level of Aguero and Kane. That leaves us with the top 2 contenders; Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane. Aguero has been just exceptional this season and the key man behind Manchester City potent attack. As of now, he has 18 goals, and he does not seem to be stopping anytime soon, especially with Manchester City title race against Liverpool, which means they can not afford to stop pushing now. Harry Kane on the other side is a player I would not bet against to make a push and grab his 3rd golden boot title. Despite missing 4 matches, Kane is still 2nd in the race for the top striker after a phenomenal performance in the last 4 matches, when he scored 3 goals. Picking out the winner out of Aguero and Kane is tougher as it may seem. Aguero can easily “pop off” and score a hat trick, while Kane seems to be more consistent with his scoring. But at the end of the day, with 8 more rounds to go in the EPL, we could easily see a 3rd player joining the race.
Sports journalist, content writer and passionate football lover.