5 players with the best goal-to-game ratio in Premier League history
Throughout the three decades of the Premier League, many world-class strikers have made their mark in the league.
From homegrown players like Michael Owen and Harry Kane to foreign superstars such as Eric Cantona and Sergio Aguero, goals have always come in abundance. These strikers have kept scoring goals at consistent levels throughout their careers.
Class strikers in the Premier League come at a premium
All 20 Premier League clubs can't line up with a top-notch finisher. This is where strikers like Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe come in. Although the pair have scored 100+ goals in the Premier League, their goal-to-game ratio leaves a lot to be desired.
Jamie Carragher's Top 10 all-time Premier League strikers:
1st: Thierry Henry
2nd: Sergio Aguero
3rd: Alan Shearer
4th: Didier Drogba
5th: Wayne Rooney
6th: Mo Salah
7th: Andy Cole
8th: Luis Suarez
9th: Dwight Yorke
10th: Harry Kane
Who agrees with @Carra23? 🤔🤔🤔 https://t.co/SEA1lLtx9q
The goal-to-game ratio is a vital metric that separates the best strikers in Europe from the rest of the pack. It essentially means how many goals a player scores per game. A ratio above 0.5 is usually considered very good for a forward. This article lists five players with the best goal-to-game ratio in Premier League history.
Note: Only players with 75 or more goals are taken into consideration.
#5 Ruud van Nistelrooy (0.63)
Ruud van Nistelrooy was the definition of a clinical goalscorer. One of the best strikers of the early 2000s, the Dutchman knew how to score a goal out of nothing. He scored 95 goals in 150 appearances in the Premier League, which comes down to 0.633 goals per game. He was the top scorer of the 2002-03 season, scoring 25 goals in a title-winning campaign with Manchester United.
Gentle reminder of Ruud van Nistelrooy's stats in 2002/03:
• Played – 52
• Goals – 44
• Assists – 6
• Premier League Golden Boot
• Champions League Golden Boot
• FA Cup Golden Boot
• Premier League POTS
• UEFA Club Forward of the Year
• UEFA TOTY
• Sir Matt Busby POTY https://t.co/dEvsKkgZkJ
"Ruud Devil", as he was referred to by the Old Trafford faithful, scored 20+ goals in four of his five seasons at Manchester United. He was injured for most of the 2004-05 season. Hence, he couldn't trouble the top scorers' table.
The former Manchester United number 10 won the Champions League Golden Boot on three occasions as well.
Among the players on this list, van Nistelrooy played the fewest matches. This is testament to how quickly he adapted to Alex Ferguson's style of play. He left Manchester United in 2006 and went on to score 25 goals in his debut La Liga campaign with Real Madrid.
#4 Mohamed Salah (0.64)
Mohamed Salah has formed a habit of appearing on almost all Premier League lists pertaining to goals. The current Premier League top scorer has scored 110 goals in 173 matches in the top flight of English football. He is the only player in this countdown to have scored goals for multiple clubs in the Premier League. He scored 108 for Liverpool and two for Chelsea.
32 - Mohamed Salah won the golden boot with 32 Premier League goals – the most scored by a player in a 20-team season in the competition. Extraordinary. #OptaPLSeasons https://t.co/TBYDSwMyJg
The Egyptian king has a goal-to-game ratio just shy of 0.64 in the Premier League. The two-time Premier League Golden Boot winner has started the season with flying colours. He has already scored 13 goals and provided nine assists this term. If he maintains this scoring rate, he will soon leapfrog a couple of players ahead of him in the goal-to-game ratio category.
Salah has scored 108 goals in 159 matches for Liverpool in the Premier League, with a goal-to-game ratio higher than any player on the list. But when we look at his Premier League career in its entirety, he stays in fourth place with a more than respectable 0.639 goals per game.