New Delhi: Alexander Isak helped Newcastle United register a thrilling 4-3 victory against third-placed Nottingham Forest. Isak’s two goals were not totally vintage but took him to 19 Premier League goals this campaign, helping him join an elite group of players.
Three more goals and then it will mark his best campaign with the Magpies. The 25-year-old’s second goal against Forest marked his 50th goal in the Premier League. The Sweden striker achieved the half-century in just 76 top-flight games.
Not only just that Isak also became the top-scoring player from Sweden surpassing former Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg who netted 48 times in the Premier League. His goals against Forest moved him alongside Haaland into joint second in the Golden Boot race with the pair six goals behind the Egyptian King Mohamed Salah.
Only six players have managed to achieve the milestone of scoring 50 goals quicker in the competition’s history which is a testament to how good Isak is at his job. Let’s take a closer look at the players who have achieved the feat in fewer games than Isak.
Erling Haaland- 48 games
Erling Haaland (Photo by Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
Erling Haaland top the list having done the job in just 48 games. He joined Manchester City in 2022. The Norwegian started off life with purpose in the Premier League scoring twice on debut at West Ham and he has carried on the unprecedented scoring pace ever since. The 24-year-old has broken record after record since arriving in England.
Haaland smashed the previous record which was held by Andy Cole for more than 28 years. Playing for the defending champions Man City he took 17 fewer games than any other player in the competition history to reach half-century.
No player has scored 10 goals (six games), 20 goals (14 games), 30 goals (27 games), or 40 goals (39 games) in fewer appearances than Haaland, and his 36-goal haul in the 2022-23 Premier League season, his first in England, broke the record for the most goals in a single season.
Andy Cole- 65 games
Andy Cole (Image via @DeadlineDayLive ‘X’)
In the light striking match between Manchester United and Ipswich Town in March 1995 which saw Premier League broke record. Andy Cole struck five goals in the Red Devils 9-0 game which even marked Man United becoming the first team in the Premier League to score nine goals.
Cole has been going through a lean spell of scoring just five goals in 19 matches before he took centre stage at Old Trafford. The English striker scored 50 goals in the Premier League in just 65 appearances. He was also the first player to score five goals in a Premier League game becoming the first player to do so since Tony Woodcock. Cole scored 43 Premier League goals in 58 appearances for Newcastle United before he joined Manchester United for a British record transfer fee.
Cole ended his Premier League career with 187 goals while he took just 120 games to score another 50 and reach 100 goals in the competition which marked his joint-ninth quickest century in 185 games.
Alan Shearer- 66 games
Alan Shearer (Image via @premierleague ‘X’)
Alan Shearer’s goal-scoring exploits in the Premier League remain unmatched with his record of 260 goals standing tall in the competition’s history. It took the legendary striker just 66 games to hit his first 50 Premier League goals. A milestone he reached in September 1994 against Everton where he also added his 51st from the penalty spot. Though Andy Cole bettered that record by one game six months later, Shearer’s relentless scoring form saw him set an even more impressive benchmark.
The former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United forward became the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League goals, achieving the feat in just 124 appearances. He took 17 games less than any other centurion in the competition’s history. His incredible consistency and goal-scoring prowess cemented his status as one of the greatest strikers English football has ever seen.
Shearer’s name is firmly etched in history with a career total of 260 Premier League goals and 283 in the English top flight. As Erling Haaland continues his rapid goal-scoring ascent there are growing anticipations that he could challenge Shearer’s long-standing records but for now the Newcastle legend’s numbers remain the ultimate benchmark.
Ruud van Nistelrooy- 68 games
Ruud van Nistelrooy of Man Utd celebrates after scoring the second goal during the FA Barclaycard Premiership match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Ruud van Nistelrooy ranks fourth in the list having scored his opening 50 goals in 68 matches. Nistelrooy’s 50th goal came in Manchester United’s comeback 2-1 win over Newcastle United in August 2003.
Nistelrooy’s half-century goal marked his 10th successive Premier League appearance for United breaking a competition record. The Dutchman failed to record in the next match against Wolves just four days later and eventually Jamie Vardy broke his record with an 11-game scoring streak for Leicester City between August and November 2015. Van Nistelrooy is now managing Vardy at Leicester
After five seasons Niestelrooy left the Red Devils and will forever be stuck on 95 goals in 150 appearances. Only three players have hit the century mark in fewer than 160 games and he could have ranked highly for this statistic.
Fernando Torres- 72 games
Fernando Torres (Image via @futnostalgico ‘X’)
No one could forget just how impressive Fernando Torres was in his opening three seasons in the Premier League. He set the record for the fastest Liverpool player to reach 50 goals. He achieved the milestone in just 72 games which is the fifth quickest among all Premier League players.
Torres achieved the half-century feat in December 2009 against Aston Villa and eventually ended his Liverpool spell with 65 goals in 102 matches. He then joined Chelsea in January 2011 for a £50m deal.
Unfortunately, the Spaniard failed to replicate that form in London. He scored just 20 goals in 110 appearances with his minutes-per-goal ratio falling hugely from 121 minutes with the Reds to 340 minutes per goal with the Blues.
Mohamed Salah- 72 games
Mohamed Salah after scoring against Manchester City. (Image via @AnfieldSector ‘X’)
The Egyptian King Mohamed Salah equalled Torres’ record with a brace in Liverpool’s stunning 4-3 comeback win over Crystal Palace in January 2019 at Anfield. Salah scored the deciding goal of the match which also marked his 50th goal in the Premier League with 48 coming in the Reds jersey after two registered for Chelsea in 2014.
Salah took 72 appearances to reach the half-century mark and held the record for the fastest Premier League player to register 50 gaols in terms of minutes played until Manchester City’s Haaland came along. He reached 50 inside in 5,374 minutes while Haaland smashed the same in just 3,827 minutes.
Until the 2022-23 campaign, the 32-year-old held the record for the most goals in a 38-game league streak registering 32 goals. He is Liverpool’s leading Premier League goalscorer surpassing Robbie Fowler’s tally of 128 goals.
Alexander Isak joins the elite list of fastest players to score 50 Premier League goals, cementing his place among legends like Haaland, Shearer, and Salah. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
