The most goals in a Premier League season

Erling Haaland's 36 goals for Manchester City in 2022/23 is the Premier League single-season scoring record, and it is also the most misleading record in English football. Haaland scored 36 times in 35 appearances, a rate of 1.03 goals per game that beats every season in the competition's history. But the record measures the team as much as the man: Haaland's City side scored 94 league goals, the most in the division that season, and he took 38.3% of them. Compare that with Alan Shearer's 34 goals in 1994/95, which were 42.5% of Blackburn's 80, the ones that actually won a title, and the record starts to look like an argument about context rather than a simple answer. The claim worth disagreeing with is that Haaland's total is simply the best. It is the highest; it may not be the most impressive.

Who holds the record for most goals in a Premier League season?

The record belongs to Erling Haaland, with 36 goals for Manchester City in 2022/23, a mark the Premier League's official records page lists as the most goals in a season. Haaland set it in his debut campaign after joining from Borussia Dortmund, and his 36 also stand as the record for most goals in a debut Premier League season. He beat the previous benchmark in style: the 38-game-season record of 32 goals, set by Mohamed Salah in 2017/18, fell in April when Haaland scored against Arsenal, and he added four more before the season closed. His total even exceeded the 34-goal seasons that Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer posted in the 1990s, when the league played 42 matches.

The record came with a pile of supporting statistics. Haaland's 1.03 goals per game is the highest rate of any Golden Boot winner in the competition's history. He became the fastest player to reach 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 goals in a season, and his 52 goals in all competitions for City in 2022/23 was a new English top-flight record. He also scored in 26 different league matches that season, a joint record he shares with Andrew Cole, set in 1993/94, and Harry Kane, set in 2022/23.

The 34-goal seasons that defined the 1990s

Haaland's 36 stands above the two men who shared the pre-Haaland benchmark of 34. The first was Andrew Cole, who scored 34 goals for Newcastle United in 1993/94. The crucial context is that this was a 42-match season, so Cole played 40 of Newcastle's games, and his total came without a single penalty. Cole also supplied 13 assists, making him the first player ever to top both the goals and the assists charts in the same Premier League season, and his 47 combined goals and assists set a record that still stands today.

The second was Alan Shearer, who scored 34 goals for Blackburn Rovers in 1994/95, a season that ended with Blackburn winning the Premier League title by one point from Manchester United. Shearer's goals were the difference. He scored 25 of them at home, a Premier League record for home goals in a season, and his 34 strikes were a remarkable share of Blackburn's 80-goal season total. With Chris Sutton adding 15, the two strikers produced more than half of the champions' goals, and Shearer's total of 47 combined goals and assists matched Cole's record. Shearer also scored 10 of his 34 from the penalty spot; Cole's 34 needed none.

What the record actually measures

Here is the uncomfortable truth about every single-season scoring record: it is a team statistic wearing a player's name. A striker can only score as often as the team creates chances, and the three record seasons illustrate the point with arithmetic. Haaland's 36 came from a Manchester City side that scored 94 league goals, meaning he supplied 38.3% of the team's total. Shearer's 34 came from a Blackburn side that scored 80, a 42.5% share. Cole's 34 came from a Newcastle side that scored 82, a 41.5% share.

By share of team goals, Shearer's record season is the most dominant of the three, and it is the only one of the three that ended with a title. Haaland's 36, for all the individual brilliance, came from the most productive attack in the league playing against teams that had to respect a treble-winning squad. The rate stat rescues him: 1.03 goals per game across a 38-game season is objectively the best scoring pace the league has seen. But a rate is not the same as a proportion, and the proportion tells you who mattered most to their team.

The other great single-season tallies

The 30-goal club has a rich history. Mohamed Salah's 32 in 2017/18 set the modern 38-game record that Haaland broke, and Salah remains the only player other than Haaland to exceed 30 in a 38-game campaign while playing for a team that scored more than 90. Luis Suarez scored 31 for Liverpool in 2013/14 despite missing the first five games of the season through suspension, a rate of a goal per game that is arguably the most impressive 31 ever posted. Cristiano Ronaldo scored 31 for Manchester United in 2007/08, and Harry Kane matched that total in 2017/18, a season in which he also won the Golden Boot with 30 league goals.

The list below shows the seasons of 30 or more goals in Premier League history:

Player	Club	Season	Goals	Games
Erling Haaland	Manchester City	2022/23	36	35
Andrew Cole	Newcastle United	1993/94	34	40
Alan Shearer	Blackburn Rovers	1994/95	34	42
Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	2017/18	32	36
Luis Suarez	Liverpool	2013/14	31	33
Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	2007/08	31	34
Kevin Phillips	Sunderland	1999/00	30	36
Thierry Henry	Arsenal	2003/04	30	37
Harry Kane	Tottenham Hotspur	2017/18	30	37

Why the Golden Boot is not the same as the record

The single-season record is one thing; the Golden Boot race is another, and the distinction matters. Haaland has won the Golden Boot three times, with 36 in 2022/23, 27 in 2023/24 and 27 in 2025/26, and he is the only player currently active with a realistic shot at the all-time wins mark. That mark belongs to Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah, both on four Golden Boots, ahead of the three won by Shearer, Harry Kane and Haaland. Salah's four came in 2017/18 (32 goals), 2018/19 (22, shared), 2021/22 (23, shared) and 2024/25, when he scored 29 and also won the Playmaker award with 18 assists, a double that had not been done before. For the career picture, see the all-time top scorers guide and the season-by-season scoring leaders. The all-time scorers list and the assists list tell the fuller story of that era: Shearer's 260 total goals still top the career charts, and the players who supplied the record seasons feature throughout the all-time assists rankings.

The low end of the Golden Boot list is a reminder that winning it rarely takes a record total. Nicolas Anelka won the outright Golden Boot with 19 goals in 2008/09, and the award has been shared at 18 goals in two different seasons. The gap between Haaland's 36 and Anelka's 19 is the distance between a once-in-a-generation striker and a normal season, which is why the record matters even if the context argument is real.

Key takeaways

• Erling Haaland holds the record with 36 goals for Manchester City in 2022/23, at 1.03 per game, the fastest rate of any Golden Boot winner.
• Andrew Cole's 34 in 1993/94 came without a penalty and with 13 assists, making him the first player to top both the goals and assists charts in one season.
• Alan Shearer's 34 in 1994/95 was 42.5% of Blackburn's goals and ended with the title, the most dominant share of any record season.
• The record measures the team as much as the striker: Haaland's 36 was 38.3% of City's 94, the league's best attack that season.
• Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah lead the Golden Boot count with four wins each; Haaland, Shearer and Kane are next with three.

FAQ

Who scored the most goals in a single Premier League season?

Erling Haaland, with 36 goals for Manchester City in 2022/23, breaking Mohamed Salah's 38-game-season record of 32 set in 2017/18.

What is the most goals scored in a Premier League season by one player without penalties?

Andrew Cole's 34 for Newcastle United in 1993/94, all scored from open play. He also recorded 13 assists, the first player to top both charts in one season.

How many goals did Alan Shearer score in 1994/95?

34 for Blackburn Rovers, 25 of them at home (a record), including 10 penalties, and his total was the highest share of any champion's goals at 42.5%.

Has anyone scored 40 goals in a Premier League season?

No. The record is 36 by Haaland in 2022/23, and the 34-goal seasons of Cole and Shearer in the 42-match era were the previous benchmark.

Who has won the most Premier League Golden Boots?

Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah, with four each. Erling Haaland, Alan Shearer and Harry Kane are next with three each.