The 11 fastest players to reach 50 Premier League goals | OneFootball

Highlights

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland makes goalscoring look simple. The enigmatic Norway international, born and bred in Leeds, has taken the Premier League by storm. Scoring the most goals in a single season at the top of English football, as well as being the fastest to net ten strikes and three hat-tricks, the former Borussia Dortmund star is somewhat inevitable.

Haaland, who has scored a ridiculous number of hat-tricks in the 21st century, notched his 50th Premier League goal in City's Premier League clash against Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium. It took him just 48 matches to reach the landmark.

Erling Haaland: The early years

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But which Premier League icons has Haaland joined? And, more annoyingly, which player has been given the boot as they move out of the top 10? Stars of yesteryear and one current great constitutes the top 11 and have received their fair share of flowers over the years for doing what strikers are paid copious amounts of money for: putting the goal in the back of the net. Let’s dive in...

1 Erling Haaland - 48 matches

City would have had high hopes for Haaland when they decided to pay €60 million for his services in 2022, but not even they would have believed that Haaland would have the success he has done.

The Norwegian has broken record-after-record since signing for the club and he broke yet another when he bagged the opening goal against Liverpool. To reach 50 Premier League goals in just 48 games is just insane. He's become the quickest player to reach the landmark by some distance and it'll surely be a long, long time until his record is broken.

2 Andy Cole – 65 matches

All the way back in 1995, Andy Cole and his Manchester United teammates played in a match to remember – and it wasn’t only the Englishman who was smashing records that day. Sir Alex Ferguson’s imperious outfit put Ipswich Town to the sword in a 9-0 drubbing, and they duly became the first team to score nine goals in a Premier League fixture.

Cole, who was never truly appreciated by his national team, grabbed a quintet of strikes to take him to the 50-goal milestone. It seems as if the centre forward then put the brakes on as it took him an additional 120 games to score another 50 – but there’s no denying how much of a threat he was in the box.

3 Alan Shearer – 66 matches

Not only does he hold the record for the most goals scored in the division (260), but former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United bagsman Shearer also ranks highly on players to reach 50 goals in the shortest game-span (66). And truth be told, it would feel odd not seeing such a perennial goalscorer involved. With his brace of strikes against Everton in September 1994, the striker-turned-pundit notched the 50th and 51st goals of his 260-goal Premier League career.

At the time, his speedy record stood at the top of the rankings only to be surpassed a mere six months later – by Cole. His record of reaching 100 goals in 124 English top flight games, however, still stands tall and firm – 17 games quicker than any other player that’s managed to do so. Bravo, Alan.

4 Ruud van Nistelrooy – 68 matches

A potent finisher, Ruud van Nistelrooy poached 50 goals in 68 matches – four better than Salah and Torres. Thanks to a goal against Newcastle in August 2003, the centre forward sparked a comeback with his 50th Premier League strike, though it also marked his 10th successive goal in the competition which, in turn, broke that record.

While he was unable to top this list, he, interestingly, recorded 50 Champions League goals in 62 games, which is four faster than none other than Lionel Messi (66). Ranked fifth in Manchester United’s list of greatest ever strikers, goalscoring came naturally to the Dutchman as he finished his 219-game Old Trafford spell on 150 goals, which is just insanely impressive.

Thanks to his struggles at Chelsea, it is sometimes easy to forget what a superb striker Fernando Torres was in his first three seasons in England. So superb that it took his 72 matches to net his first 50 goals in the Premier League. In emphatic fashion at Villa Park back in December 2009, El Niño scored a stoppage-time winner to pencil his name in on this fabled list.

Eventually ending his Liverpool stint with 65 goals in 102 appearances, he is recognised as one of the club’s finest, despite popping up with the odd howler. Following his £50m switch to Chelsea in the early 2010s, his goal threat seemed to dry up as he went on to register 20 goals in his 110-game stint at the capital club.

From one player hailed as Merseyside royalty to another, Mohamed Salah, included in the Premier League Team of the Season so far, matched Torres’ 50-goal record in the same number of games, 72. Of course, The Egyptian King managed to do so operating on the right flank, whereas the Spaniard was an out-and-out striker. And while he is not at the summit of this list, he his in fact the fastest Premier League asset to 50 goals in terms of minutes played – 5,374 minutes compared to Alan Shearer’s 5,380.

The former Chelsea man secured his spot on this list after netting twice in an enthralling seven-goal thriller against Crystal Palace in 2019, one in which Salah’s side went on to win 4-3. Until Haaland joins him in due course, he is the only active player to find himself in the top ten.

7 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 79 matches

It took Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang fewer games to reach 50 goals than Henry. Let that sink in. Once upon a time, before his failed stint at Chelsea, the Gabon forward was one of the league’s most threatening forwards – and he proved just that when he hit the 50-goal achievement in just 79 matches.

The former Emirates Stadium striker scored twice during a 4-0 rout over Norwich back in 2020, but ultimately failed to join the exclusives ‘centurions’ club, finishing five short of 100 goals with 95 across stints in both north and west London. He, perhaps, didn’t receive ample opportunity to strut his stuff for the Blues, but there was a time when he was simply remarkable for the Gunners.

8 Sergio Aguero – 81 matches

Similarly to Henry, Sergio Aguero managed to reach 50 goals against Spurs, though the Argentine managed to do so in a 5-1 demolition job over the north London giants during the 2011/12 season. On home soil, too, it was a moment that the Etihad Stadium icon will never forget.

In truth, given his undeniable ability and ruthlessness in front of goal, reaching such a milestone was inevitable – it was just a question of how long it would take him. In Aguero’s case, it took him a total of 81 matches, and he is currently the seventh-fastest player to do so.

9 Thierry Henry – 83 matches

Matching Phillips’ record of reaching a half century of goals in 83 games is Arsenal's cult hero Thierry Henry - and even better, he managed to do so in a north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur during a 2-1 triumph in 2001. The stuff of dreams. Despite being tied with Phillips, the mercurial Frenchman continued to set the Premier League alight, scoring 175 goals in 258 outings.

Recognised as one of the greatest footballers to have never won a Ballon d’Or, the former Barcelona marksman brought a certain type of aura to England – something that is irreplaceable. Week upon week, he was seen devastating defenders, whether that be through the middle on the left flank. They simply don’t make them like Henry anymore.

10 Kevin Phillips – 83 matches

An enjoyer of one of the finest debut seasons in Premier League history, Kevin Phillips is a unique name on this list surrounded by all-time greats – but make no mistake about it, he knew where the back of the net was. He never managed to hit a century of goals, finishing on 92, but will forever be remembered for notching 50 in quick fashion.

Making the step up from the second tier to the first so effortless, the former Sunderland striker scored 25 goals during his first taste of the English top division. He managed to net another 25 in 83 matches in the 2001/02 campaign as his form in front of goal began to fade away.

11 Diego Costa – 85 matches

Unfortunately for the former Chelsea brute, Diego Costa's has been kicked out of the top 10 in this list thanks to Haaland’s knack in front of goal. However, it would be completely remiss of us to look past his impressive goalscoring numbers from his days in west London.

Only just passing the 50-goal mark during his brief stint at Wolverhampton Wanderers, he reached this milestone in a mouth-watering 85 matches. Back in 2017 during a 4-2 victory over Southampton, the Spain international hit the back of the net to etch his name in Premier League history, albeit for not much longer, and only went on to notch another two for the Blues afterwards.