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There are just 14 games to go right now and the Premier League is entering into a vital month of February, where a lot will be decided. Every team will be looking at their goalscorers to make a defining contribution and every goalscorer will be looking at the competition around. Hello and Welcome Back to our assessment of the top contenders for the Premier League Golden Boot at the start of February.
The month of January saw a lot of actions on the football field and much has happened in the Premier League in that time. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has continued his brilliant start to life as a caretaker manager at Old Trafford, even though the winning streak has ended.
Chelsea is slipping, as the race to finish within the Champions League spots has opened up. Manchester City is losing ground on the top of the table. But the biggest news is that Liverpool is no longer beaten, as Pep had managed to outdo Klopp in the new year.
Also Read - Top Contenders for the Premier League Golden Boot: January 2019
The race to the Premier League Golden Boot has intensified and 6 players in this list have scored the same number of goals! They could be separated only by goals per game and goals per minutes played.
The top three, however, has seen a significant change and the three players are separated only by a goal each. Read on to find out the top 10 contenders for the Premier League Golden Boot at the start of February 2019.
#10 Glenn Murray (England, Brighton & Hove Albion)
Goals Scored: 10
After missing out from the race at the start of January, the Englishman makes a return to this list, by virtue of the brace he scored at the end of the month.
Murray had scored just one goal in the month of December, against Crystal Palace at the start of the month. His drought in front of goal continued into the new year, as he failed to find the back of the net in the 2-2 draw away to West Ham. He subsequently failed to score in the narrow defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United.
However, the Englishman finally regained his scoring boots at the end of the month, away to Fulham. Murray scored as early as the third minute and then doubled the lead in the 17th minute. However, his team failed to hold on to the advantage and lost the game 2-4!
With 10 goals from 24 games, Glenn Murray is 10th in the race to the Premier League Golden Boot at the start of February. He is currently averaging a goal every 153 minutes played.
#9 Eden Hazard (Belgium, Chelsea)
Goals Scored: 10
From 4th among the contenders at the start of January, Eden Hazard has slid dangerously down the list at the start of the February. He is currently 9th among the contenders, because he had a very poor January by his standards, as he failed to score a single goal in the month.
The Belgian started the new year with a home game against Southampton, where he started on the left, but failed to score. Chelsea drew the game 0-0. He started as the Center Forward in the following game against Newcastle and tore through the Magpies defence in the second half to set up Willian, who scored the winner.
In the next two games, Hazard was largely ineffective, as Chelsea lost 0-2 to Arsenal and 0-4 to Bournemouth. It is clear that the Belgian is an integral part of Sarri's set up and whenever he fails to score goals, the Blues suffer.
Hazard is averaging a goal every 185 minutes so far and has scored 10 goals from 23 games. He does have 10 more assists to his name but is falling behind in the race already. As of now, he is 6 goals behind the man who leads this list and must find the back of the net more often to stand any chance of getting back in contention for the Premier League Golden Boot.
#8 Sadio Mane (Senegal, Liverpool)
Goals Scored: 10
The Senegalese has moved one place from 9th at the start of January to 8th here, thanks to a decent showing in the last month. He is one of the 6 men who are tied on 10 goals in this list, but a lesser goals per minute ratio sees him ranked lower.
Sadio Mane started the month on a disappointing note, as he failed to score against Manchester City, who ended Liverpool's unbeaten run by defeating them 2-1. He failed to score in the following game as well, as Liverpool overcame Brighton with a 1-0 scoreline.
Following two barrens runs from the left, Klopp shifted the Senegalese to the right wing for Crystal Palace. It worked for the team, as Mane scored a goal and Liverpool won 4-3. He continued on the right in the next game as well and gave his team an early lead against Leicester, but Maguire equalized as the game ended 1-1.
With 10 goals from 22 games, Mane is 8th in the race to the Premier League Golden Boot at the start of February. He is averaging a goal every 185 minutes played and has attempted 45 shots, 26 of which have been on target.
#7 Richarlison (Brazil, Everton)
Goals Scored: 10
The Brazilian stays put on the 7th position from last month, narrowly beating Mane to the rank by a better minutes-per-goal ratio. But Richarlison's January was not too pleasing, as he found it hard to put the ball in the back of the net in the new year.
He started from the left against Leicester at the start of the month but failed to score as Everton lost 1-0 at home. Richarlison was used as a Centre Forward in the following game against Bournemouth, and while Everton won 2-0, he still could not find the back of the net. He continued in the Centre Forward position against Southampton, but was largely ineffective again, while his team were defeated again.
It seemed that the Brazilian was entering another lean phase, but things changed at the end of the month as he scored the winner against Huddersfield. Richarlison now has 10 goals from 22 games and is averaging a goal every 181 minutes played. He has attempted 37 shots so far, 21 of which have been on target.
#6 Raheem Sterling (England, Manchester City)
Goals Scored: 10
The Englishman's goalscoring form has taken a hit of late, but Sterling has managed to stay put in the 6th position. After scoring just one goal in December, he was expected to push on at the turn of the year and close the gap from the top.
However, even though he has contributed as a part of the team, Sterling has been poor in front of goal. He started the year by setting up Sane to score the winner against Liverpool, a game where he failed to score himself. In the following game against Wolves, he assisted Jesus to score the opening goal. City won the game 3-0, but Sterling failed to score again.
The Englishman finally found the back of the net in the game against Huddersfield, scoring his 10th goal of the season. However, he failed to score last weekend, as City were defeated by a resolute Newcastle side.
Sterling is averaging a goal every 175 minutes played so far and has scored 10 goals from 21 games in the Premier League. He has registered 29 shots so far, 22 of which have been on target.
#5 Callum Wilson (England, AFC Bournemouth)
Goals Scored: 10
Callum Wilson continues his run among the wolves, matching step for step with some of the best strikers of the league. He had a fantastic month by his standards, which has seen him jump 5 places from 10th position last month to 5th here.
He started the month by scoring against Watford, helping his team secure a 3-3 draw. He was not selected for the following game, a 0-2 loss to Everton, where his qualities were missed. He returned to the starting line up against West Ham in the next game and scored another goal. Even he was not in the team against Chelsea, Bournemouth had no trouble defeating the blues 4-0.
The Englishman has now scored 10 goals from 21 games and is averaging a goal every 173 minutes. He has registered 36 shots so far, 20 of which have been on target. At the start of February, Wilson is 5th among the contenders for the Premier League Golden Boot.
#4 Sergio Aguero (Argentina, Manchester City)
Goals Scored: 11
The Argentinean might have lost a little ground on his rivals, but he is still in the race at the start of February. He has jumped one place from 5th at the start of January to 4th in our latest assessment.
Aguero started the year with a fantastic display against leaders Liverpool, drawing first blood for his team in a memorable win. He made a brief appearance from the bench in the following game against Wolves and did not score.
The Argentinean was back in the starting eleven in the next game, where he set up Sane to score the third goal of the game, even though he could not score himself. Last weekend, he scored the opening goal against Newcastle in the 1st minute, however, City lost the game 1-2.
With 11 goals from 20 games, Sergio Aguero is 4th in the race to the Premier League Golden Boot at the start of February. He has registered 53 shots, with 25 of those on target and is averaging a goal every 132 minutes played so far.
#3 Harry Kane (England, Tottenham Hotspurs)
Goals Scored: 14
After a fantastic month of December, Harry Kane continued his goalscoring run into the new year, scoring one and setting up another in a 3-0 win over Cardiff City at the start of the month. However, he failed to score against Manchester United in the following game, as a brilliant David De Gea kept the entire Tottenham team at bay.
To make matters worse for the Englishman, he picked up an injury in the dying moments of the game and it is now confirmed that a torn ankle ligament could keep Kane out of action until March.
It means that he might fall further behind in the race in the coming days, but as of now, Kane is third in the race to the Premier League Golden Boot, with 14 goals from 22 games.
He has register 59 shots on target so far, the highest in the league and 37 of those have been on target. He currently averages a goal every 135 minutes played.
#2 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon, Arsenal)
Goals Scored: 15
The Gabon International saw a slight dip in his goal scoring antics in the month of January, and the competition at the top is so stiff that he had to surrender his pole position to a familiar foe. Aubameyang started the new year on a high, scoring one goal in a 4-1 win over Fulham. He drew a blank in both of the next games - a defeat away to West Ham and a victory over Chelsea at home.
But he was back among the goals last weekend, scoring one and setting up the other in a narrow 2-1 win over Cardiff City. As of now, the Gunner No. 14 has scored 15 goals from 24 games in the Premier League and is just a goal behind the man at the top of the list.
Aubameyang has registered 50 shots so far and 27 of those have been on target. He is averaging a goal every 128 minutes played and with Kane injured, will have the chance to mount the pressure at the top of the table.
#1 Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool)
Goals Scored: 16
The Egyptian is back where he belongs, at the top of the pile, after a strong showing in the new year. His start to the month, though, was inauspicious, as he struggled to find the back of the net against Manchester City, a game where Liverpool lost their unbeaten tag.
But he was not going to give up on the race that easily, and Salah was back among the goals in the very next game, scoring the winner in a 1-0 win over Brighton. He followed that up with a brace in the hard-fought win over Crystal Palace. Last weekend, he could not score as Leicester held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw.
Salah has registered 57 shots on target - only Harry Kane has more - and 38 of those were on target, the most in the league. He is averaging a goal every 127 minutes and has scored 16 goals from 24 games so far. The Egyptian is the No. 1 Contender for the Premier League Golden Boot at the start of February.
Join us again next month as we assess the developments of the race to the Premier League Golden Boot
