With just a handful of games remaining in the Premier League season, the race for the Golden Boot is hotting up.
Harry Kane finished the 2020-21 season as the top scorer with 23 goals, and it looks as though a similar total will be required this time around. Mohamed Salah leads the way, and has done for much of the season, already matching his tally from last season with time to spare thanks to his efforts in Liverpool's April victory over Manchester United.
Salah's Liverpool have everything to play for in the title race, trailing Manchester City by a single point with four games left. However, even seemingly meaningless games could prove extremely significant in the chase for individual honours. Here, Mirror Football looks at the leading contenders to finish the season on top of the goal charts.
Mohamed Salah - 22 goals
Salah might have slowed in the second half of the season, but he started the season like a train. When the Egyptian scored a hat-trick at Old Trafford, helping Liverpool to a 5-0 victory, it took him up to 10 goals in just nine league appearances.
He had reached 15 by the turn of the year, at which point his career-best return of 32 Premier League goals (from 2017-18) looked reachable. However, after the former Roma man missed games for the Africa Cup of Nations, he returned a less prolific figure.
A third Golden Boot is still very much in sight, though, after he followed up that achievement from his debut Reds season by sharing the award with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sadio Mane one year later. Indeed, if Jurgen Klopp's team are to chase down Manchester City and win the league, it could well rely on more Salah goals during the run-in with the Reds due to face Tottenham, Aston Villa, Southampton and Wolves.
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Son Heung-min - 19
Considering Son is not Tottenham's regular penalty taker, his appearance high up on the list is all the more impressive. The South Korea international has six goals in his last five games, including two in the weekend victory over Leicester City, and is already enjoying his best ever season for league goals.
Spurs' final four Premier League games will see them take on Liverpool, Arsenal, Burnley and Norwich City. Son scored in three of the four reverse fixtures, with Burnley the only exception, and he'll have fond memories of facing the Clarets after his Puskas Award-winning goal in 2020.
Even as he continues to fire Spurs towards a potential top-four finish, Son has taken time to praise other members of the squad, most recently Dejan Kulusevski. "Don’t forget, he has only been in the Premier League for three months. He’s really enjoying it and playing with freedom," Son told Stadium Astro in April.
Cristiano Ronaldo - 18
Questions were asked of Cristiano Ronaldo when he returned to Manchester United in August, with some wondering whether he would be able to hit the ground running in his second Premier League stint. There have still been queries about United's decision to move for the veteran, with Jamie Carragher continuing to question the move, but Ronaldo's goals have been important for the Red Devils.
Ronaldo scored just one Premier League hat-trick in his first United stint. However, he already has two this time around - both inspiring 3-2 victories against Tottenham and Norwich - while his penalty against Brentford on Monday took him up to 18 in the league.
If Ronaldo is to win the Golden Boot, the biggest obstacle may be the fact that United only have two games left to play., By his own high standards, 18 goals isn't huge, but he can still make it to 20 league goals for a 13th successive season if he delivers away to Brighton and Crystal Palace.
The chasing pack
Earlier in the season, it looked as though Liverpool could end the campaign with all three podium places. This is still possible, with Diogo Jota on 15 league goals and Sadio Mane one behind on 14, but the Reds have shared goals around a little more since the turn of the year.
Last season's Golden Boot winner Harry Kane has been hit hard this season by an extremely slow start from which he is only just recovering. The England captain didn't open his league account until October, but he's now up to 13 in the Premier League and 23 in all competitions, putting him ahead of teammate Son when goals in the cups are included.
Brentford's Ivan Toney and Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha are both one back from Kane on 12 apiece for the season. It's already Zaha's best return in his nine Premier League seasons, while Toney's tally was helped by his first ever Premier League hat-trick as the Bees beat Norwich in March.
As was the case in the 2020-21 season, league leaders Manchester City have spread their goals around to the point that none of their players are close to the top of the charts. Ilkay Gundogan led the way for Pep Guardiola's side last term with 13, but this time around no one in the team has even reached that mark.
Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez are City's top league scorers with 11 apiece. Mahrez's 0.74 goals per 90 is second only to Salah among players with 10 or more goals, and the Algerian's 23 in all competitions represents the best ever return of his career.
Another man hitting new heights on a personal level is Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka . The 20-year-old is the third player in the league to have scored 11, and goals in the Gunners' remaining games against Leeds, Tottenham, Newcastle and Everton could yet send his team into the Champions League.
