After a long and tiresome season, Premier League players get a few days to themselves during the summer break. They take exotic vacations, chill with friends, and let themselves break the routine, hoping to rejuvenate themselves ahead of another demanding season.
However, getting back into the groove can be challenging, even for battle-tested veterans. They struggle to fire on all cylinders from Matchday 1 of the Premier League season. For most, it is not until Matchday 4 or 5 that they hit their stride and prove their mettle.
There are a few exceptions, of course. Some players are so comfortable on the pitch that they start firing from Matchday 1, despite being well below their 100%. Today, we will tip our hats to such pattern-breaking individuals, check out the top five players who have scored the most goals on Matchday 1 in the history of the English Premier League. Let’s begin!
#5 Teddy Sheringham – 7 Goals
Former England striker Teddy Sheringham is a Premier League legend through and through. Sheringham scored an impressive 146 goals in 418 matches in the Premier League. Seven of his 146 strikes came on Matchday 1.
Sheringham represented five English clubs in his Premier League career. He briefly played for Nottingham Forest before switching to Tottenham Hotspur in the 1992-93 season. Ahead of the 1997-98 season, he joined Manchester United and spent the following four years at the club. Just ahead of the 2001-02 season, Sheringham rejoined Tottenham for a brief two-season spell before signing for Portsmouth. After just one season, Sheringham joined West Ham United — his final club in the Premier League.
Sheringham scored his first Matchday 1 goal (1992-93) for Nottingham Forest, added three (1993-94, 1994-95, 1995-96) to his tally at Tottenham Hostpur, netted only one (1998-99) for Manchester United, got off the mark on his Premier League debut (2003-04) for Portsmouth, and scored the final goal for West Ham in 2005-06. Sheringham’s most impressive Matchday 1 display came for Tottenham Hotspur in the 1994-95 season. He scored once and provided two assists as the Lilywhites claimed a 4-3 win over Sheffield Wednesday.
#4 Alan Shearer – 8 Goals
The man with the most strikes in Premier League history, 260-goal icon Alan Shearer scored eight goals on Matchday 1 across 14 seasons. Shearer spent four seasons at Blackburn Rovers between 1992-93 and 1995-96 before taking his talents to Newcastle United.
Shearer evenly distributed his Matchday 1 goals between Blackburn and Newcastle, scoring four times for each club. He scored four times across 1992-93, 1994-95, and 1995-96 seasons for Blackburn and bagged the other four for Newcastle in three consecutive seasons between 2002-03 and 2004-05. Shearer netted two opening-day braces in his career. He scored twice as Blackburn played out a 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace in 1992. Shearer secured his second Matchday 1 brace for Newcastle United against Leeds United in the 2003-04 season. His goals allowed the Magpies to secure a 2-2 draw.
#3 Wayne Rooney – 8 Goals
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney is the third name on the list, having scored an impressive eight goals on Matchday 1 throughout his Premier League career. The Englishman, who started his career at Everton, ran Premier League defenders ragged for 16 seasons.
Rooney scored 15 goals in 67 Premier League games for Everton across the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, but he could not manage to find the back of the net on Matchday 1. In the following 13 seasons at Manchester United, he bagged a total of 183 Premier League goals in 393 games. Seven of those goals (2005-06, 2006-07, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2016-17) came on Matchday 1. His eighth Matchday 1 goal came on his Everton return in the 2017-18 season.
Rooney’s finest Matchday 1 display arrived in the 2006-07 season against Fulham. The ex-England star bagged a brace and claimed an assist as Man Utd bagged a 5-1 win over Fulham.
#2 Frank Lampard – 8 Goals
One of the finest attack-minded midfielders in English soccer history, Frank Lampard scored eight goals on Matchday 1 in his Premier League career. He was in the English top flight for 20 seasons, representing West Ham United, Chelsea, and lastly, Manchester City.
Lampard was West Ham United’s senior team for six seasons, scoring twice on Matchday 1 of the Premier League season (1997-98, 1999-2000). Lampard attained legendary status during his 13-season run with Chelsea. He was on the scoresheet on Matchday 1 in six (2002-03, 2006-07, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14) of those 13 seasons. His performance against Charlton Athletic was easily the most impactful, as his goal and assist propelled the Pensioners to a 3-2 victory.
#1 Mohamed Salah – 9 Goals
Arguably Liverpool’s greatest player in the Premier League era, Mohamed Salah has scored nine goals and provided four assists on Matchday 1 since joining the Merseysiders ahead of the 2017-18 season. Except for the 2023-24 season, in which he provided an assist as the Reds played out a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, Salah has scored in every single Premier League campaign opener for his current employers.
Three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner Salah delivered his finest Matchday 1 performance against Leeds United in the 2020-21 season. He scored a stunning hat-trick as Liverpool claimed a 4-3 win over the Whites.
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