Soccer

More opening-day scoring success for Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland

Salah capped Liverpool’s 2-0 success against Ipswich before Haaland set Manchester City on their way to beat Chelsea by the same scoreline.

Mohamed Salah, left, and Erling Haaland scored yet again on opening day
Mohamed Salah, left, and Erling Haaland scored yet again on opening day
By Tom White, PA Sport Data Journalist

Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland ignited their Premier League Golden Boot battle and extended their impressive opening-day records in their sides’ wins this weekend.

Salah capped Liverpool’s 2-0 success against Ipswich, setting a Premier League record in the process, before Haaland set Manchester City on their way to beat Chelsea by the same scoreline.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the pair’s records on the first day of the season.

Mohamed Salah

Mohamed Salah, left, beats Ipswich keeper Christian Walton for Liverpool’s second goal
Mohamed Salah, left, beats Ipswich keeper Christian Walton for Liverpool’s second goal (Bradley Collyer/PA)

Liverpool forward Salah now has more goals in the Premier League’s opening weekend than any other player, notching his ninth to break the tie with Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard.

Having laid on Diogo Jota’s opener, the Egyptian scored himself five minutes later to keep up a near-immaculate opening-day record for Liverpool.

Salah scored a hat-trick in a 4-3 win over Leeds in September 2020, when the start of the season was delayed due to the Covid pandemic, and one goal each against Watford in 2017, West Ham in 2018, Norwich in both 2019 and 2021, Fulham in 2022 and now the Tractor Boys.

Last season was the one time he was shut out, instead waiting until week two against Bournemouth for his first of the campaign.

Salah has now played 350 games for the Reds, with 212 goals and 88 assists. He ranks 10th on the all-time Premier League goalscoring list on 158, with the chance to rapidly climb the chart – Jermain Defoe and former Liverpool favourite Robbie Fowler are the first names in his sights, both within five goals.

Erling Haaland

Haaland’s opening-day record actually took a step back on Sunday – having scored twice in each of the last four openers, he netted only once against Chelsea.

That run started for his former club Borussia Dortmund with a brace in a 3-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach in 2020, a return he emulated in the following season’s 5-2 success against Eintracht Frankfurt.

He announced himself to the Premier League with a double against West Ham in August 2022 – and 10 goals in his first six games – and also netted twice at Burnley last season.

Since arriving in the Premier League, Haaland has scored more goals in the month of August (13) than either Chelsea (11) or Manchester United (nine).

Sunday was Haaland’s 100th City appearance in all competitions and brought his 91st goal, to go with 15 assists. He has won the Golden Boot in both his first two Premier League seasons, with a record 36 goals in 2022-23 and then 27 in 2023-24.

He has scored against every Premier League opponent he has faced, 22 different clubs, and has the chance next week to add a 23rd and extend his perfect record through another season when City face promoted Ipswich – his only new opponent this term.