City’s scoring surge eclipses rivals as Haaland still trails Salah

While Manchester City’s relentless scoring has defined the Premier League this decade, the individual chase for the top‑scorer spot remains unsettled, with Erling Haaland still trailing Mohamed Salah despite both clubs’ firepower. When the season reaches its final stretch, the gap between them will be closely watched.

The 2020s have been dominated by Manchester City’s success, with Liverpool and Arsenal also enjoying moments of joy. All three clubs have representatives among the Premier League’s top‑scoring players of the decade so far.

Who leads the goal race?

Salah currently sits at the summit of the decade’s goal tally, while Haaland remains behind, prompting the question of when he will finally overtake the Egyptian forward. The race for the most Premier League goals this decade therefore remains open.

After extending his Arsenal contract in February until the 2030s, Bukayo Saka aims to continue his prolific output for the rest of the decade. By the end of the 2020s he will be 29 and could approach a century of top‑flight goals, having already amassed more than 60 for Arsenal.

Joe Wood began the 2020s midway through his four‑and‑a‑half‑year spell at Burnley, scoring seven goals in the latter half of the 2019‑20 campaign. After moving to Newcastle in January 2022 and later to Nottingham Forest, he has netted 38 league goals for Forest and was one of only five players to reach the 20‑goal mark in 2024‑25.

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Jarrod Bowen joined West Ham from Hull City in January 2020, scoring his first Premier League goal in his third appearance. He has since exceeded 60 top‑flight goals, added the winning strike in the 2022‑23 Europa Conference League final, and netted on the final day of the 2025‑26 season before the club’s relegation, committing to them in the Championship. Alexander Isak, Callum Wilson and Bryan Mbeumo sit just outside the top‑10, illustrating the depth of scoring talent.

Milestones across the league

Phil Foden, a player for Manchester City, recorded his first Premier League goal for the club in 2019, the only one outside the 2020s. He now boasts more than 100 goals in all competitions for City and reached double figures in both the 2022‑23 and 2023‑24 campaigns, earning the Premier League Player of the Season award for the latter.

Bruno Fernandes arrived at Manchester United from Sporting CP in January 2020 and has climbed into the club’s top‑10 Premier League scorers with 74 goals, 27 of which were penalties. His lowest league tally is eight, while his best season produced 18 goals.

Harry Kane amassed 77 Premier League goals across his final three‑and‑a‑half seasons with Tottenham, including a 30‑goal haul in 2022‑23, yet never claimed the Golden Boot in those campaigns. By contrast, Son Heung‑min finished the 2020s with 127 Premier League goals – about 63 percent of his total – and shared the 2021‑22 Golden Boot with Salah on 23 strikes.

Ollie Watkins entered the Premier League in the summer of 2020 after a 25‑goal Championship season with Brentford, and has recorded double‑figure goal tallies in six consecutive seasons. He also topped the assists chart in 2023‑24 with 13 assists, his highest goal return that season being 19.

The contrast between Manchester City’s collective firepower and the individual pursuit of the decade’s scoring crown shows that while clubs can dominate, the personal quest for record‑breaking tallies remains unresolved, leaving Haaland’s chase of Salah as the next compelling storyline.