Premier League Goal Statistics

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Over the last three decades, the Premier League has become a global phenomenon. From the thousands of fans that pack the likes of Old Trafford and Anfield every week, to the 12.8 replica shirts sold worldwide in 2022, the English top division is undisputedly the most popular league in the sport.

With hundreds of millions of fans passionately consuming the league across the globe, the demand for information has never been greater. Goals, in particular, remain the most fascinating part of the Premier League. Whether it's an expertly placed free kick from James Ward Prowse or another record-setting strike from Erling Haaland, nothing captures the imagination of fans like the goal-scoring exploits of the league’s star players.

With this in mind, we have created this comprehensive Premier League goal statistics page, breaking down the key records, trends, and goalscorers throughout the history of club football’s most prestigious league.

Top five Premier League goal stats

Alan Shearer is the Premier League’s all-time top scorer with 260 goals
Harry Kane has scored the most Premier League goals for a single club, with 213 for Tottenham Hotspur
Erling Haaland holds the record for the most goals in a single Premier League season (36)
Shane Long holds the record for the fastest Premier League goal (7.69 seconds)
Jamie Vardy holds the record for scoring in the most consecutive games in the Premier League (11)

Premier League goal-scoring records

Which player has scored the most goals in Premier League history?

As of the 2023-24 season, Premier League goal stats show that Alan Shearer remains the highest scorer in Premier League history. With a phenomenal 260 goals scored during successful spells with Blackburn and boyhood club Newcastle, the former England captain stands alone as the only player to exceed 250 Premier League goals.

A breakdown of the 10 highest goalscorers in Premier League history

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Shearer is followed on the list by Harry Kane, a fellow England captain, who looked on course to break Shearer’s long-standing record before his departure for Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023. With 213 goals, the long-time Tottenham Hotspur striker has scored almost a fifth (18%) fewer goals than Shearer.

80% of the players in the 10 Premier League top scorers of all-time have represented England at international level. Sergio Aguero has the distinction of being the highest-scoring non-English player in Premier League history. With 184 goals scored over 10 trophy-laden seasons at Manchester City, the Argentine striker has the sixth-highest goal count in Premier League History – around 4% more than Arsenal legend Thiery Henry (175). Arsenal tickets were gold dust during Henry’s scintillating spell in North London, which saw him win the league’s Golden Boot no less than four times.

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Which players have scored the most goals for a single Premier League team?

As of 2023, Harry Kane is the only striker in Premier League history to score more than 200 goals for a single team. With 213 goals scored over a decade at the heart of Tottenham’s attack, Kane’s tally is around 16% more than any other player.

A breakdown of the 10 players with the most goals for a single Premier League team player-with-the-most-goal

Only a goal separates second-placed Sergio Aguero (184) and third-placed Wayne Rooney (183). With 367 Premier League goals scored between them, both players retired as the record goal scorers for their respective clubs, Man City and Man United.

Almost a third (30%) of the players in the top 10 scored all or most of their goals while playing for Liverpool, with Mo Salah (seventh) joining homegrown heroes Robbie Fowler (ninth) and Steven Gerrard (tenth) on the list. As of 2023, these three players have scored a combined 390 Premier League goals for the Reds, ensuring their names will be sung in The Kop forevermore.

Which player scored the most goals in a Premier League season?

The latest Premier League stats show that Erling Haaland stands alone as the player with the most goals in a Premier League season. With an insatiable 36 goals in the 2022/23 season, Haaland smashed a long-standing record shared by ‘90s marksmen Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, who both hit 34 goals in the 1993/94 and 1994/95 seasons, respectively.

Haaland's achievement is even more impressive when considering that Cole and Shearer’s tallies occurred in seasons when there were 22 teams and 42 fixtures in the league, compared to the modern setup of 20 teams and 38 matches.

A breakdown of the players with the most goals in a Premier League season most-goals-in-premier-league

Liverpool hero Mo Salah holds the second-highest goal count over a 38-game season, with 32 strikes during a phenomenal campaign in 2017/18. Salah wowed Liverpool ticket holders by breaking a long-standing record set by Alan Shearer (31) during Blackburn’s 1995/96 campaign. The Egyptian’s record was usurped by Haaland four years later, in 2022/23.

Shearer and Harry Kane hold the distinction of being the only players with more than one season in the top 10, with Kane’s 30 goals in 2017/18 and 2022/23 placing him joint eighth with Kevin Phillips (1999/00), Thierry Henry (2003/04), and Robin Van Persie (2011/12).

Which player has scored the most Premier League goals in a calendar year?

Premier League stats show that Harry Kane has scored the most goals of any player in a calendar year, with the long-time Spurs captain hitting 39 goals in 2017. As of 2023, Kane is the only player to score more than 35 goals in a calendar year, with his 2017 tally at least 11% more than any other player.

Kane also holds the distinction of being the only player with two years in the top 10, with his 27 goals in 2017 the joint eighth highest-scoring year in Premier League history.

A breakdown of the players with the most Premier League goals in a calendar year

Player	Club(s)	Goals	Year
Harry Kane	Tottenham	39	2017
Robin Van Persie	Arsenal	35	2011
Thierry Henry	Arsenal	34	2004
Ruud van Nistelrooy	Man United	30	2003
Luis Suarez	Liverpool	29	2013
Jamie Vardy	Leicester City	29	2019
Erling Haaland	Man City	28	2023*
Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	28	2018
Sergio Aguero	Manchester City	27	2016
Harry Kane	Tottenham	27	2015
Alan Shearer	Newcastle United	27	2002

(Source: Sportskeeda)

*Erling Haaland’s 2023 account is as of the 21st November 2023.

In second is Dutch maestro Robin Van Persie, who hit 35 goals for Arsenal in 2011. Van Persie finished narrowly ahead of former Gunners teammate Henry, who managed 34 goals as the star of Arsene Wenger's swashbuckling ‘invincibles’ in 2004.

Narrowly missing out on the top three is Ruud Van Nistelrooy – Henry’s great goalscoring rival – who scored 30 goals for Man United in 2003. Van Nistelrooy’s goals were a pivotal factor in United being crowned champions in May of that year.

As of November 2023, Erling Haaland has hit 28 league strikes in the year to date. If his goalscoring exploits continue, then the Norwegian is likely to occupy one of the top places on the list.

Which player has the best goals per minute in the Premier League?

Premier League stats show that Man City star Erling Haaland reigns supreme when it comes to goals per minute. With a formidable scoring ratio of more than a goal per game, the Norwegian sensation has averaged a goal every 80 minutes since he arrived from Borussia Dortmund in 2022. With such unparalleled form so far, few would bet against Man City ticket holders being treated to many more goals from their talisman.

A breakdown of the players with the best goals-per-game ratio and best goals per minute in the Premier League:

best-goals-per-minute

Serio Aguero takes the second spot, with the Man City icon averaging a goal every 108 minutes. Despite this, Aguero’s goals-per-minute ratio is lower than third place Thierry Henry, who managed a goal every 108 minutes.

Edin Dzeko takes the ninth spot, despite having a goal-per-game ratio of just over one in every three games. This is because the Bosnian target man was used primarily as a super sub during his time at Man City, giving him an impressive average of a goal every 142 minutes.

Who has scored the most consecutive goals in the Premier League?

Leicester legend Jamie Vardy can proudly boast the record for the longest run of consecutive goalscoring matches in the Premier League. Leading the line during Leicester’s fairytale title march in 2015/16, Vardy enjoyed his finest hour when he hit 13 goals over a seemingly endless 11-game run.

A breakdown of the players with the longest run of consecutive scoring games in the Premier League:

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Man United poacher Ruud Van Nistelrooy holds both the second and third-longest goal streaks. The Dutchman set a then-record of eight games in 2001/02, before breaking his own record with a 10-game streak in the 2003/04 season.

Van Nistelrooy and Vardy are responsible for 80% of the entire top five, with both players featuring twice. The only other player to break the top five is Daniel Sturridge, who scored in eight consecutive games in 2013/14 as a prominent member of Brendan Rogers’ exciting Liverpool side.

Which player has scored the most goals in a Premier League game?

As of 2023, the record for the most goals in a Premier League game is shared by five players, all on five goals. Man United treble winner Andy Cole was the first to achieve this feat, when he struck five times during a 9-0 rout of Ipswich in the 1994/95 season.

A breakdown of the players with the most goals scored in a single Premier League match:

Player	Club	Number of goals	Opponent	Season
Andrew Cole	Manchester United	5	Ipswich	1994/95
Alan Shearer	Newcastle United	5	Sheffield Wednesday	1999/00
Jermain Defoe	Tottenham Hotspur	5	Wigan Athletic	2009/10
Dimitar Berbatov	Manchester United	5	Blackburn	2010/11
Sergio Aguero	Manchester City	5	Newcastle United	2015/16

(Sources: The Official Premier League Site)

Cole would be followed by Alan Shearer, who hit the same tally in 1990/00 during Newcastle’s 8-0 victory over eventually-relegated Sheffield Wednesday.

Since then, three players have joined Cole and Shearer. Jermain Defoe, Dimitar Berbatov, and Sergio Aguero all put five past unfortunate opponents. Aguero was the most recent player to join the club when he scored five goals in 20 minutes against a hapless Newcastle in the 2015/16 season.

What are the most goals scored in a single Premier League game?

Portsmouth and Reading hold the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League match, with their 11-goal thriller in the 2007/08 season. This classic match saw Portsmouth prevail 7-4, with a scintillating hat-trick from striker Benjani giving them the edge in a wild, back-and-forth affair at Fratton Park.

A breakdown of the highest-scoring matches in Premier League history:

Fixture	Season	Total goals (scoreline)
Portsmouth vs Reading	2007/08	11 (7-4)
Tottenham vs Reading	2007/08	10 (6-4)
Tottenham vs Wigan	2009/10	10 (9-1)
Man United vs Arsenal	2011/12	10 (8-2)
Arsenal vs Newcastle	2012/13	10 (7-3)

(Source: The Analyst)

There are four fixtures tied in second place with 10 goals each. Reading fell to another thrilling defeat in the 2007/08 season, succumbing 6-4 to Tottenham at White Hart Lane in a campaign that ultimately saw them relegated.

Arguably, the most famous fixture in the top five is Man United’s 8-2 rout of Arsenal in 2011/12. After years of dominating at the top of the league under their legendary bosses, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, this match came to be recognised as the moment Ferguson had left his old rival behind as a serious threat to United’s dominance.

Which player has scored the most non-penalty Premier League goals?

Penalties are often disputed when it comes to debates on the Premier League’s greatest goalscorers. For some fans, a high volume of goals from the spot is considered the hallmark of a consistent and reliable forward. For others, penalties are a cheap way to pad out records that don’t reflect the true value of the player.

Despite this, Premier League stats show that Alan Shearer remains the division’s most prolific marksman – even when discounting penalties. With 204 goals scored away from the spot, the Newcastle icon is the only player, as of 2023, to exceed 200 goals.

A breakdown of the top 10 Premier League goalscorers when excluding penalties:

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Though Shearer remains at the top of the list, his dominance shortens considerably when discounting penalties. In second place is Andy Cole, Shearer’s goal-scoring rival throughout the ‘90s, with 186 goals.

Despite scoring freely for the likes of Newcastle and Man United during his illustrious career, Cole was never a regular penalty taker, meaning his overall tally only falls by a single goal when discounting penalties. Unsurprisingly, Cole’s overall position climbs from fourth to second when discarding goals from the spot.

Another beneficiary of discarding penalties is Les Ferdinand, Cole’s replacement at Newcastle, who enters the top 10 with 147 goals. Like Cole, Ferdinand wasn’t a regular penalty taker, and his tally is made up entirely of goals scored away from the spot.

Conversely, Harry Kane’s position drops from second to fourth when discounting his 33 Premier League penalties scored for Spurs. Similarly, Frank Lampard falls out of the top 10, with his tally reducing from 177 to 145 when excluding spot kicks (-18%).

Which player has scored the most Premier League goals away from home?

When it comes to breaking the hearts of home crowds, nobody comes close to Harry Kane. With 112 league strikes coming away from home, Kane is the only player to hit more than 100 away Premier League goals as of 2023.

This means that Spurs’ record scorer has scored around a fifth (19%) more away goals than any other player, with over half (52%) of his 213 Premier League goals coming on the road.

Home advantage is no myth in the Premier League, with statistics for the 2022/23 season finding that more than two in five (43%) games ended in a home victory, compared to more than a third (36%) for away wins. As such, a goalscorer who can find the net regularly away from home is held in high esteem.

A breakdown of the Premier League players with the most goals away from home:

goals-away-from-home

The rest of the top five is composed entirely of English players, with Wayne Rooney in second with 94 goals. Though Alan Shearer’s tally of 87 places him third, this only accounts for a third (33%) of his 260 Premier League goals.

Frank Lampard and Andy Cole are the only other players to score more than 80 away goals in the Premier League to date, with their tallies of 85 and 83 placing them fourth and fifth, respectively.

How many games would these current Premier League strikers need to play to break the all-time goalscoring record?

In a bid to find out how the best goalscorers in the Premier League today compare with greats gone by, Live Football Tickets looked at the scoring ratios of 10 current Premier League strikers.

Analysing the total goals scored against the number of games played, we worked out how many Premier League games each striker would need to play to break Alan Shearer’s goal-scoring record of 260, based on their current goals-per-game ratios.

A breakdown of how many games Premier League strikers would need to play to break the all-time goalscoring record:

Player	Goals	Appearances	Goals to 260	Goals-per-game	Number of games needed to break the record
Erling Haaland	46	47	214	0.9787	220
Mo Salah	147	242	113	0.6074	188
Darwin Nunez	13	39	247	0.3333	744
Son Heung-min	111	278	149	0.3993	376
Ollie Watkins	52	132	208	0.3939	531
Julian Alvarez	13	40	247	0.3250	763
Marcus Rashford	77	249	183	0.3092	595
Alexander Isak	16	29	244	0.5517	444

(Source: Live Football Tickets)

When it comes to the race for the record, Erling Haaland has gotten off to a flyer. With an astonishing 46 goals in 47 games, the Man City striker’s ratio of nearly a goal per game is substantially better than any other current Premier League player.

If his current form continues, the Norwegian marksmen would need to play another 220 games to break the record – nearly 200 fewer than Shearer. This would equate to just over five injury-free seasons.

With 147 goals in 242 games, Mo Salah is the closest current player in the Premier League to Shearer’s record. With a goal-per-game ratio of just over 0.6, Salah would need to play another 188 games to break the record at his current rate. Should he choose to see out his career at Liverpool, and avoid any serious injuries, the Egyptian icon has as good a chance as anyone of breaking Shearer’s long-standing record.

Longtime Spurs favourite Son is the next closest player to breaking the record. With 111 goals over 278 games, the Korean star’s impressive tally would mean he’d require another 378 matches to take the top spot. While the record may be slightly out of his grasp, few would bet against Son one day breaking the top 10 overall Premier League scorers, based on his current rate of scoring.

Despite his prominence at the heart of Man Utd’s attack since 2016, Marcus Rashford’s current record of 77 goals over 249 games means he’d require another 595 games to break the record. Nevertheless, Rashford continues to shift Man Utd tickets due to his all-action style and constant threat.

Similarly, though Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak has managed an impressive record of roughly a goal every two games since his arrival in England. This form would mean he’d require nearly 450 games to become the league’s all-time goalscoring king.

Which player scored the fastest goal in the Premier League?

Any regular Premier League ticket holder knows all about the fear of missing an early goal when arriving late to the match. When it comes to the fastest goal scored in the Premier League, Shane Long leads the pack by a stretch. His early chipped finish for Southampton against Watford in 2019 shattered records by hitting the net just 7.69 seconds after kickoff.

As of 2023, Long’s strike is 1.5 seconds quicker than any other Premier League goal and is the only goal to have occurred within eight seconds of kick-off.

A breakdown of the fastest goals scored in Premier League history:

fastest-goal-premier-league

In second place is Philip Billing, who scored an early close-range finish for Bournemouth against Arsenal in a swift 9.11 seconds during the 2022/23 season. This makes Billing one of only three players to have scored a Premier League goal inside 10 seconds.

The only other player to do this is Spurs legend Ledley King (9.58). He’d previously held the record for more than 18 years with his long-range effort against Bradford in the year 2000.

Rounding off the top five are Alan Shearer (10.52) and Cristian Eriksen (10.54), with goals against Man City and Man United, respectively. Eriksen’s speedy goal against Man Utd in the 2017/18 season means that two of the five fastest Premier League goals came from players representing Spurs.

Which countries have been the most prolific goalscorers in the Premier League?

To find out which country are the most prolific goalscorers in the Premier League from, Live Football Tickets looked at the total number of matches played and goals scored by players from numerous nations. By doing this, we were able to find out which country had the best overall goals-per-game ratio in the Premier League.

South Korea is the most prolific country in the Premier League, with an impressive 162 goals scored across a combined 1,007 matches. This gives them an overall ratio of 0.16 goals-per-game. The nation’s figures have been heavily boosted by the efforts of Son Heung-min, with the Spurs striker's 111 goals accounting for around two-thirds (69%) of South Korea’s overall tally.

A breakdown of the nations with the best combined goals-per-game ratio in the Premier League:

goal-per-game-ratio

South Korea is followed by the Ivory Coast – a nation that’s been represented by renowned Premier League stars such as Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, and Wilfred Zaha. Indeed, Drogba and Zaha’s combined 240 league goals are responsible for more than half (57%) of the African nation’s overall tally of 419.

Belgium is the most prolific European nation, with esteemed playmakers like Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne contributing heavily to a goals-per-game ratio of over 0.14. Romelu Lukaku can lay claim to being the highest-scoring Belgian in the Premier League, with the former Everton, Chelsea, and Man Utd target man’s tally of 120 accounting for just under a fifth (17%) of Belgium’s 686 goals.

Just behind Belgium is Italy, who’ve scored 457 goals over a total of 3,226 games. Unlike Belgium, Italy doesn’t have any player in the Premier League’s fabled 100-goal club. Their highest-scoring players are revered mavericks Paolo Di Canio (66) and Gianfranco Zola (58), who are responsible for around a third (30%) of Italy’s goals combined.

Rounding off the top five is Columbia, home of mercurial Premier League figures like Faustino Asprilla and James Rodriguez. Juan Pablo Angel is the highest-scoring Columbian in the Premier League, with the Aston Villa cult hero’s tally of 44 making up just over a quarter of the South American nation’s 169 strikes.

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Which Premier League goalscorers represent the best value for money?

In a bid to find out which Premier League goalscorers offered the best value for money, Live Football Tickets looked at 12 players who scored at least 100 goals for a single club. Excluding academy graduates and players who’d been signed for free, we compared the transfer fees of each player against their total goals, to give each player a cost-per-goal fee.

When it comes to cost-per-goal statistics, Jamie Vardy obliterates his competition. Signed from Fleetwood for a relatively minuscule fee of £1m in 2012, the Leicester legend would go on to score a phenomenal 127 Premier League goals, in an era that would see the club lift their first-ever league title and FA Cup in 2016 and 2021, respectively.

Even when taking account of transfer fee inflation, Vardy’s transfer would only have cost around £2.6 million in the modern game, giving the former non-league striker an unrivalled cost of £19,191 per goal. This means that Vardy’s average goal costs less than 10% of any other player on our list.

A breakdown of the Premier League signings with over 100 goals for their club and their cost per goal:

Player	Transfer	Year	Fee	Fee adjusted for inflation	Total Premier League goals	Cost per goal (adjusted for inflation)
Jamie Vardy	Fleetwood Town to Leicester City	2012	£1m	£2.61m	127	£19,191
Frank Lampard	West Ham to Chelsea	2001	£11m	£39.16m	147	£266,395
Mo Salah	Roma to Liverpool	2017	£47.5m	£56.12m	146	£287,655
Son Heung-min	Bayer Leverkusen to Tottenham	2015	£22m	£36.08m	111	£325,045
Thiery Henry	Juventus to Arsenal	1999	£11m	£58.74m	175	£335,657
Sergio Aguero	Atletico Madrid to Man City	2011	£35m	£97.65m	184	£530,707
Ian Wright	Crystal Palace to Arsenal	1991	£2.5m	£74.63m	104	£715,548
Wayne Rooney	Everton to Man Utd	2004	£25.6m	£133.12	183	£727,432
Alan Shearer	Southampton to Blackburn	1992	£3.6m	£107.46	112	£959,464
Cristiano Ronaldo	Sporting Lisbon to Man Utd and Juventus to Man Utd	2003 and 2021	£25.09m (combined)	£104.84m	103	£1.01m
Didier Drogba	Marseille to Chelsea	2004	£24m	£124.8m	104	£1.2m
Alan Shearer	Blackburn to Newcastle	1996	£15m	£188.25m	148	£1.27m

(Sources: Live Football Tickets)

Following Vardy is Frank Lampard, who hit 147 goals for Chelsea after his £11m transfer from West Ham in 2001. When taking into account modern transfer inflation, the midfielder would have cost just over £36m, giving him a cost-per-goal ratio of nearly £267,000.

Mo Salah follows closely, with his 146 goals for Liverpool costing The Reds around £288,000 per goal – 8% more than Lampard. Depending on his scoring record over the next few seasons, Salah may well leapfrog Lampard, should he produce the form that inspired Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2019.

Rounding off the top five are Son Heung-min and Thierry Henry. Costing £22m in 2015, Spurs striker Son has gone on to plunder 111 goals, giving him a cost-per-goal ratio of £325,000.

Though Henry cost half of Son’s fee when he signed for Arsenal in 2001, the relative rate of recent inflation in football means his transfer fee equates to just over £58m in the modern day, resulting in a slightly higher cost-per-goal of £335,657.

The only player to feature twice on the list is Alan Shearer. Signing for Blackburn for a then-British record fee of £3.6m, the former England captain would go on to hit 112 Premier League goals for the Lancashire club. He would then sign for Newcastle for a then-world record fee of £15m in 1995, hitting 148 league goals for his boyhood club.

While these fees look relatively small in modern terms, they total over £300m combined (when accounting for modern inflation), giving Shearer a cost-per-goal ratio of around £960,000 at Blackburn and £1.27m at Newcastle.

Which player has scored the most Premier League goals for a relegated side?

There are few, if any, things in football that can elevate the fortunes of a team like a prolific goalscorer. A clinical, in-form marksman can be the difference that transforms a title pretender into a genuine challenger, or guides a relegation-threatened side to mid-table safety.

Therefore, it’s all the more surprising to see a player scale the upper reaches of the goal charts in a campaign where his team gets relegated.

When it comes to goals scored for a relegated team, former England international Andy Johnson leads the way. Representing Crystal Palace in the 2004/05 season, Johnson bagged 21 goals in a campaign that would see his side agonisingly relegated on a dramatic final day.

Johnson’s tally was second to only Thierry Henry that season, and is the only instance where a striker representing a relegated club has surpassed the fabled 20-goal mark.

A breakdown of the Premier League players who scored the most goals for a relegated club:

Player	Goals scored	Team	Season
Andrew Johnson	21	Crystal Palace	2004/05
Charlie Austin	18	QPR	2014/15
Yakubu	17	Blackburn Rovers	2011/12
Fabrizio Ravanelli	16	Middlesbrough	1996/97
Jermain Defoe	15	Sunderland	2016/17
Paul Wilkinson	15	Middlesbrough	1992/93
Chris Armstrong	15	Crystal Palace	1992/93
Darren Bent	13	Charlton Athletic	2006/07
DJ Campbell	13	Blackpool	2010/11
Rodrigo	13	Leeds United	2022/23
Harvey Barnes	13	Leicester City	2022/23
Charlie Adam	12	Blackpool	2010/11
Jan Aage Fjörtoft	12	Swindon Town	1993/94
Nathan Blake	12	Bolton Wanderers	1997/98
Les Ferdinand	12	Leicester City	2003/04
Peter Crouch	12	Southampton	2004/05
Steven Fletcher	12	Wolves	2011/12
Adam Le Fondre	12	Reading FC	2012/13

(Source: Live Football Tickets)

Following Johnson is Charlie Austin, who hit 18 goals for QPR in a 2014/15 season that saw his side finish rock bottom of the Premier League. This means that Austin scored at least 20% more goals than any other player representing a bottom-placed team, with Jermain Defoe’s tally of 15 for Sunderland (2016/17) the next highest.

andy-johnson-premier-league-goal

The top five is rounded-sm off by Yakubu, Fabrizio Ravenelli, and Defoe with 17, 16, and 15 goals, respectively. Ravenelli’s goals for Middlesbrough in 1996/97 came one year after he’d scored in the Champions League final for Juventus, and his exploits on Teeside remain revered despite Boro’s eventual relegation.

Elsewhere, the 2022/23 season was responsible for two players in the top 10, with Harvey Barnes and Rodrgio finishing joint-10th thanks to their 13 strikes for Leicester and Leeds, respectively.

Premier League goal stats by position

Which wingers and wide-forwards have scored the most goals in the Premier League?

Wide positions in top-level football have evolved significantly over time, with traditional touchline roaming wingers replaced by wide-forwards, who are expected to cut inside and contribute more goals than ever before. As such, it’s no surprise to see that the list of most goals scored by wide players is dominated by those who began their careers in the 21st century.

Topping the list is Mo Salah, the prolific Liverpool forward who has scored 146 Premier League goals for the Reds, as of 2023. This means that Salah has scored almost a quarter (23%) more goals than any other wide player in Premier League history.

A breakdown of the wingers and wide forwards with the most goals in the Premier Leaguewingers-and-wide-forward

In second is Raheem Sterling on 118, followed by Salah’s long-time Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane (111). The only traditional winger on the list is Ryan Giggs, who scored 109 Premier League goals for Man United during their two-decade reign at the top of English football.

There are six wide players in total that have contributed more than 100 Premier League goals, with the final two being Son Heung-Min and Cristiano Ronaldo. Though Ronaldo would later excel as a centre-forward for La Liga giants Real Madrid, the majority of his goals in the Premier League came as a prolific wideman in Sir Alex Ferguson’s fabled attacking ‘00s attack.

Most Premier League goals scored by midfielders

Premier League stats show the dominance of British players when it comes to goal-scoring midfielders. Fittingly, the top three is made up of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and Paul Scholes. As teammates for the Three Lions, and rivals for their clubs in the ‘00s, these players inspired a never-ending debate regarding which one was the best British central midfielder of their generation.

When it comes to goals, Lampard holds a significant edge over his peers, with 177 strikes. This places him 57 goals ahead of Gerrard and 70 strikes ahead of Scholes. As of 2023, the trio stand as the only Premier-league midfielders to surpass the 100 goals mark.

A breakdown of the highest-scoring midfielders in Premier League historyhighest-scoring-midfielders

Following Scholes is the late, great Welshman Gary Speed, who contributed 80 goals for various Premier League clubs including Leeds United, Everton, and Newcastle. Rounding off the top five is Kevin Nolan, the box-to-box midfielder who scored 69 goals representing the likes of Bolton, Newcastle, and West Ham.

Most Premier League goals scored by defenders

Premier League stats show that John Terry reigns supreme as the Premier League’s all-time goalscoring defender. The long-time Chelsea captain contributed 41 league goals during his time at Stamford Bridge, making him the only defender (to date) to pass the 40-goal mark.

A breakdown of the defenders with the most goals in Premier League historyhighest-scoring-defenders

Just three goals behind Terry is longtime Everton stalwart David Unsworth. Unsworth was a known penalty specialist during his time at Goodison Park, with his 22 goals from the spot accounting for more than half (58%) of his overall tally.

The remainder of the top five is made up of Gary Cahil (28), alongside free-kick specialists Leighton Baines (32) and Ian Harte (28).

Goalkeepers who’ve scored a goal in the Premier League

There are few more dramatic sites than a trailing team sending their goalkeeper into the opposition's box for a stoppage time set piece. Statistics show, however, that these theatrical moments rarely result in the keeper scoring. As of 2023, only six keepers have scored a goal in the Premier League, with nobody scoring more than one.

A breakdown of the goalkeepers who’ve scored a goal in the Premier Leaguegoalkeeper-scored-premier-league-goal

The first keeper to find the net was Peter Schmeichel, the Man United mainstay who volleyed home a corner during his short-lived spell at Aston Villa in 2001/02. Schmeichel has since been joined by Alisson Bekker, Asmir Begovic, Brad Friedel, Tim Howard, and Paul Robinson.

Though most of these goals stemmed from the keeper coming forward for a set piece, Robinson’s and Begovic’s goals are the exceptions. Robinson’s freak strike was the result of a free kick from deep inside his own half that bounced over the head of Watford stopper Ben Foster and into the net. Similarly, Begovic’s strike occurred when the then-Stoke stopper punted a clearance from his own box that sailed beyond the grasp of Southampton’s Artur Boruc.

Premier League goal stats by team

Which player has scored the most Premier League goals for each team?

Premier League stats show a vast range of goal tallies when looking at the all-time top scorers for each team competing in the 2023/24 season. 210 goals separate Tottenham’s top Premier League scorer Harry Kane (213) and Luton’s most prolific player Carlton Morris (3), at either end of the scale.

A breakdown of the all-time top Premier League scorers for each team competing in the 2023/24 season

Team	Player	Number of goals
Arsenal	Thierry Henry	175
Aston Villa	Gabriel Agbonlahor	73
Bournemouth	Joshua King	48
Brentford	Ivan Toney	32
Brighton & Hove Albion	Pascal Gross	28
Burnley	Chris Wood	49
Chelsea	Frank Lampard	147
Crystal Palace	Wilfried Zaha	68
Everton	Romelu Lukaku	68
Fulham	Clint Dempsey	50
Liverpool	Mohamed Salah	142
Luton Town	Carlton Morris	3
Manchester City	Sergio Aguero	184
Manchester United	Wayne Rooney	183
Newcastle United	Alan Shearer	148
Nottingham Forest	Bryan Roy	24
Sheffield United	Brian Deane	14
Tottenham Hotspur	Harry Kane	213
West Ham United	Michal Antonio	63
Wolves	Raul Jimenez	40

(Sources: Transfermarkt, Premier League, Free Elements)

Unsurprisingly, the most consistently successful teams in the league tend to have the highest scorers. Man City’s Sergio Aguero (184), Man United’s Wayne Rooney (183), and Arsenal’s Thiery Henry (175) have the second, third, and fourth-highest number of goals, respectively.

Equally, it’s the division’s newcomers, or those who’ve spent a long time out of the division, that tend to have the lowest scorers. After Luton, Brian Deane’s 14 goals for Sheffield United is the next lowest total, followed by Nottingham Forest’s former striker Bryan Roy on 24. Combined, these players' goals are less than a fifth of those managed by Harry Kane at Spurs.

Which team has scored the most goals in Premier League history?

Premier League stats show that Man United have scored the most goals of any team in the Premier League, as of 2023. The 13-time champions have amassed a phenomenal 2,252 goals since the league’s inception in 1992 – 6% more than any other team. Man United’s goals-per-game ratio of 1.87 also stands as the highest total in the league.

A breakdown of the teams with the most all-time goals in the Premier League

Team	Total number of goals	Goals-per-game ratio
Manchester United	2,252	1.87
Arsenal	2,121	1.77
Liverpool	2,114	1.76
Chelsea	2,022	1.69
Tottenham Hotspur	1,833	1.57
Manchester City	1,769	1.82
Everton	1,535	1.28
Newcastle United	1,465	1.36
Aston Villa	1,335	1.23
West Ham	1,292	1.24

(Source: The Premier League Official Site)

Following United is Arsenal, with the Gunners’ impressive tally of 2,121, bearing testament to the expansive style they’ve become known for since the start of the Arsene Wenger era. Liverpool are just seven goals behind Arsenal on 2,114, with fourth-placed Chelsea (2,022) the only other side to have exceeded 2,000 goals.

Despite having spent multiple seasons outside the Premier League at the turn of the century, Man City’s unrivalled success since their takeover in 2009 has seen them race to 1,769 goals – the sixth-highest total overall. This means that City’s goals-per-game ratio of 1.82 stands as the second-highest in the league overall – only 0.05 lower than rivals Man United.

man-united-most-goals

Which team scored the most Premier League goals over a single season?

Man City have set a new standard for goal-scoring in the Premier League under Pep Guardiola. The 2017/18 season saw the club score an unparalleled 106 goals as they strolled to the title.

While that season stands as the one to beat, City very nearly topped their own record two years later when they managed 102 goals in 2019/20 – a season in which they finished runners-up to Liverpool.

A breakdown of the teams with the most goals over a single Premier League season

Team	Season	Total goals scored
Manchester City	2017/18	106
Chelsea	2009/10	103
Manchester City	2019/20	102
Manchester City	2013/14	102
Liverpool	2013/14	101

(Source: The Analyst)

City can lay claim to 60% of the top five places, with their title-winning team under Manuel Pellegrini in 2013/14 also finishing the season with 102 goals.

Aside from City, Chelsea (2009/10) and Liverpool (2013/14) are the only other sides to appear in the top five with 103 and 101 goals, respectively.

Which team has conceded the most goals in Premier League History?

Premier League goal stats show that Everton has conceded the most goals of any team, with their tally of 1,552 around 3% more than any other side. The Toffees’ are followed closely by fellow league mainstays Tottenham, who’ve shipped 1,509 Premier League goals, as of 2023.

A breakdown of the most all-time goals conceded by a team in the Premier League

Team	Total goals conceded
Everton	1,552
Tottenham Hotspur	1,509
West Ham	1,500
Newcastle United	1,459
Aston Villa	1,412

(Source: The Official Premier League Site)

Third-placed West Ham is the only other team to have conceded at least 1,500 goals, while Newcastle (1,459) and Aston Villa (1,412) had the fourth and fifth highest totals, respectively.

Which team has conceded the most goals in a Premier League season?

Swindon Town holds the unwanted record for the most goals conceded in a Premier League season, with their 100 goals shipped in 1993/94 standing as the record for over two decades. Though Swindon’s tally occurred during a season when there were 42 games and not 38, their average concession rate of 2.38 per game remains the highest ratio of goals conceded, as of 2023.

A breakdown of the teams who conceded the most goals in a single Premier League seasonmost-goal-in-single-premier-session

Swindon are followed by Derby County, who shipped 89 goals in a hapless 2007/08 campaign that saw them break the record for the Premier League’s lowest points total. Derby conceded one more goal than third-placed Fulham on the list, who leaked 83 efforts in a 2013/14 season which ended in relegation.

Premier League stats by type of goal

Which player has the most free-kick goals in Premier League history?

As of 2023, David Beckham leads the list when it comes to the most free-kicks scored in the Premier League. As arguably the player most synonymous with free-kicks in the game’s history, Beckham captivated Old Trafford for a decade, scoring 18 free kicks as the creator-in-chief of a dominant Man United side.

A breakdown of the players who’ve scored the most all-time free kicks in the Premier Leaguemost-free-kicks

Closely behind Beckham is James Ward Prowse, another dead ball specialist who has been often compared to the former England captain. Having signed for West Ham in 2023, the long-time Southampton midfielder has scored 17 free kicks to date, and is widely expected to overtake Beckham’s long-standing record. The remainder of the top five is rounded-sm off by three of the league’s greats, with Thiery Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Gianfranco Zola sitting joint-third with 12 strikes each.

Which player has scored the most penalties in Premier League history?

Alan Shearer dominates the charts when it comes to Premier League goals from penalties. Premier League stats show that the Blackburn title-winner converted 56 spot-kicks in his illustrious career – 75% more than any other player. This makes Shearer the only player to date to exceed 50 goals from the spot, with no other player yet to reach 40, as of 2023.

A breakdown of the players who’ve scored the most penalties in Premier League history

Player	Total penalties scored
Alan Shearer	56
Frank Lampard	32
Harry Kane	30
Steven Gerrard	29
Mark Noble	28
Sergio Aguero	27
Jamie Vardy	26
Wayne Rooney	23
Luka Milojevic	22
Leighton Baines	20

(Source: The Analyst)

Frank Lampard follows Shearer on the list, with 32 penalties converted during a Premier League career that saw him represent West Ham, Chelsea, and Man City. Third-placed Harry Kane is the only other player besides Shearer and Lampard to score at least 30 Premier League penalties to date. More than three-quarters (80%) of the top 10 is composed of English players, with sixth-placed Sergio Aguero (27) and ninth-placed Luko Milojevic (22) the only overseas players to score more than 20 penalties in the Premier League.

Which player has scored the most own goals in the Premier League?

Premier League stats found that Richard Dunne leads the pack when it comes to the unwanted record of most own goals in the Premier League. With 10 goals sent past his own keeper, the former Man City captain has almost a third (30%) more own goals than any other player in the division, as of 2023. Dunne made appearances in 15 Premier League seasons during his career, meaning the centre-half averaged an own goal every 1.5 campaigns.

A breakdown of the players with the most all-time own goals in the Premier Leagueplayers-with-own-goals

Phil Jagielka shares second with Liverpool duo Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel, with each defender shipping seven Premier League own goals in their careers. Of the three, Skrtel has by far the highest own-goals per-season ratio (0.77), having spent nine seasons in the division compared to 15 for Jagielka and 17 for Carragher. Five players share the fifth spot, with Ryan Shawcross, Wes Brown, Frank Sinclair, Johnny Evans, and Lewis Dunk all on six.

Premier League goals FAQs

What is “goal difference” in the Premier League?

Goal difference refers to the variation between the number of goals a team has scored, and the number they have conceded over a season. For example, a team that has scored twenty goals but conceded 10, would have a goal difference of +10. Alternatively, a team that has scored 10 and conceded 20, would have a goal difference of -10.

What happens if both teams finish on the same points and goal difference in the Premier League?

In the event that both points and goal difference are equal for two sides, their respective positions would be decided by ‘Goals For’. Goals For refers to the number of goals a team scores in the season, meaning the team with the most goals would finish highest. If Goals For is equal, placements would be settled by ‘head-to-head’, meaning the team that has collected the most points against the other that season would finish highest.

How many players have scored 100 goals in the Premier League?

As of 2023, 34 players have scored 100 Premier League goals since the league began in 1992/93. These players are often collectively referred to as the ‘Premier League 100 Club’.

What is the highest-scoring Premier League season?

Premier League stats show that the 2022/23 season is the highest-scoring season, as of 2023. With 1,084 goals scored across the campaign, this campaign overtook the previous record set in 2018/19 (1,072) after 33 goals were scored on the last day.

Which team won the Premier League with the least amount of goals scored?

Man United hold the record for the least goals scored by a Premier League-winning side. In the league’s maiden season of 1992/93, United won the title with 67 goals – one less than Arsenal in 1997/98, Man United in 2008/09, and Leicester in 2015/16.

Premier League goals glossary

Free-kick

A free kick is a set piece given to a team when a foul has been committed against them outside the opposition box. The position of a free-kick will depend on the place in which the foul has been committed.

Goal difference

Goal difference refers to the variation between the number of goals a team has scored and the number they’ve conceded in a season. For example, a team that has scored a goal more than they’ve conceded will have a goal difference of +1.

Goals for

Goals for refers to the total number of goals a team has scored over a single season.

Goals-per-game ratio

Goals-per-game ratio refers to the number of goals a player/team has scored compared to the number of matches they have played.

Own goal

An own goal is when a player puts the ball into his own team's net, handing a goal to the opposition.

Penalty

Penalties are dead ball shots given to a team when they have had a foul or improper play committed against them inside the opposition’s box. Penalties are taken from the ‘penalty spot’ 12 yards away from goal.

Sources

Premier League - Stats
Sports Journal - Premier League Merchandise Revenue Data
Free Elements - England Clubs
Transfermarkt
Olympics
Sportskeeda - The Longest Storing Streaks in the Premier League
Sportskeeda - The 10 Highest Premier League Player Goal Tallies in a Calendar Year
The Analyst - The Highest Scoring Premier League Games
Betting Apps - Premier League Top Scorers Without Penalties
The Analyst - Most Goals Scored by a Premier League Team in a Single Season
The Analyst - The Most Free Kick Goals in the Premier League
Sportskeeda - The Players with the Most Away Goals in Premier League History
The Analyst - The Fastest Premier League Goals

Methodologies

Which Premier League goalscorers represent the best value for money?

For analysing the cost per goal for players in Premier League 100 club (scored 100 goals or more). All 34 players were sourced and their goals in the Premier League (since 1992) verified with Premier League statistics
To analyse a cost per goal, only goals paid for, i.e. goals after being transferred, were analysed. As a result, Harry Kane, Steven Gerrard, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Matt Le Tissier are all excluded. Goals scored after free transfer or breaking through to the team were not analysed. For example, Michael Owen’s goals for Liverpool.
The transfer fees for each player’s premier league transfer was obtained and cross-checked from reputable sources. The fees were adjusted using CPI data to inflate the values to 2023 for a fairer comparison of fees across all transfers.
The total cost per goal was computed as the transfer fee divided by goals scored for each transfer. (For example, an average of Alan Shearer’s cost per goal at Blackburn and cost per goal at Newcastle)
All transfers and their cost per season since 1992 were obtained from Transfermarkt
For each season total transfer spend was calculated. The inflation rate of total transfers for each year compared to 1992 was calculated by comparing the total difference in spend between years. This was then used to inflate the transfers based on the current market

How many games would these current Premier League strikers need to play to break the all-time goalscoring record?

Analysis of some of the current high goal scorers was done to compute how many games it would take to break the goal scoring record based on their goals-per-game ratio.
The goals per game (in the Premier League only) was calculated and used to predict how many games it would take to break the all-time goal-scoring record in the Premier League of 260.

Which countries have been the most prolific goalscorers in the Premier League?

To find which country has been the most prolific in the Premier League, all players and their stats (goals, assists, appearances, etc..) were scraped from fbref for all premier league seasons 1992-2023 (current season excluded).
The statistics were aggregated by country of birth, and the goals per game was computed to find which country has been the most prolific in the premier league.
For a fairer comparison, only countries that have provided players in over 1000 matches were compared.

Which player has scored the most Premier League goals for a relegated side?

Live Football Tickets sought to find the highest scoring Premier League players in a single Premier League campaign who were situated in a team that got relegated in the same season.
Firstly, the official Premier League site was used to collate a list of teams that were relegated each year, throughout the history of the Premier League.
Then, utilising Transfermarkt, the Premier League goal scoring charts were analysed for each season.
For each season, all players with a total of 12 or more goals, who also played for a relegated side that year were collected.
Results were ranked from highest to lowest to determine the most prolific goal scorers in a season where they were relegated.
Additionally, relegated teams from every year were collected, alongside their total goal counter in the Premier league in each specific season in which they were relegated.

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