This weekend saw a new Premier League goal record, with a whopping 24 goals scored on Sunday. That’s the most ever for a Sunday in the Premier League featuring five games or fewer.
The 2023/24 season is already on course to break the record for the most goals in a Premier League campaign. Sunday’s matches included some absolute classics such as a 4-3 thriller between Liverpool and Fulham. Tottenham‘s 3-3 draw at Manchester City stole the headlines as City’s Spurs curse continued.
Chelsea beat Brighton 3-2 in another high-scoring affair, as Bournemouth and Aston Villa drew 2-2. West Ham and Crystal Palace finished 1-1 in what was a damp squib by the other games’ standards.
The day’s total of 24 goals is the most ever scored on a Sunday featuring five matches or fewer. It’s become something of a trend this season, with the three highest-scoring five-game Sundays in Premier League history all coming this year.
That took the weekend’s total to 38, making this the 23rd highest-scoring Matchweek in Premier League history. But more importantly, it means there have now been 442 goals across just 140 games this season.
Will We See A New Premier League Goal Record This Season?
At a rate of 3.16 goals per game, the 2023/24 season is on course to break the record for most goals in a 38-game season. The current record was set last year, and stands at 1,084 goals. That’s a rate of 2.85 goals per game, well below this season’s average so far.
The third and fourth most goals in a Premier League season came in 2018/19 and 2021/22. Both seasons averaged 2.82 goals per game, with 2018/19 witnessing 1,072, just one more than in 2021/22.
But the most goals of any Premier League campaign came some 31 years ago. In 1992/93, 1,222 goals were scored during the Premier League’s 42-game season, at a rate of 2.6 per match. For that record to be broken in the modern, 38-game era, there would need to be an average of 3.22 goals per game across the season.
But at the current rate of 3.16, we can expect this season to get somewhere around the 1,200 mark come the end of May. While 2023/24 may not quite surpass the record for any Premier League season, it’s well on the way to setting another record for the 38-game era.
Will Haaland Break His Own Goal Record?
Another record that’s on course to be beaten is that set by Erling Haaland last season. The Norwegian smashed the record for goals in a Premier League campaign with 36 in his debut season at Manchester City since joining from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund last year. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah held the previous 38-game record, with 32 in 2017/18.
Despite having four more games to play, neither Andy Cole or Alan Shearer could outdo Haaland during the 42-game era. The pair both managed 34 goals in a season back when the league had 22 teams, but Haaland surpassed even them.
This season, Haaland already has 14 goals in 14 appearances. This means he’s on track to break his own record and finish the season with 38 goals in 38 games. Should he stay fit and play every match, there’s a good chance he will do just that.
That said, even Erling Haaland will probably never break the all-time record for goals in a top flight season. Everton’s Dixie Dean scored an unbelievable 60 in the old First Division back in 1927/28, a tally that looks unlikely to ever be beaten.
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