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Cole Palmer Has Tied Erling Haaland in the EPL Golden Boot Race

Haaland and Palmer Can’t Stop Scoring

· Apr 16 - 3 minutes read

Cold Palmer

Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal are currently in a fierce battle for the English Premier League’s coveted domestic trophy. However, for Pep Guardiola’s side to successfully defend their title, the role of their star striker, Erling Haaland, cannot be overstated. His consistent delivery of world-class performances in front of goal is crucial for the team’s success.

Cole Palmer Has Tied Erling Haaland in the EPL Golden Boot Race — Glyn Kirk / Afp | Chelsea's English Midfielder #20 Cole Palmer Celebrates

Both Arsenal and Liverpool play twice before Man City next feature in the Premier League 👀

Who will be top of the table once these fixtures have all been played? pic.twitter.com/ZMagFXRh32

— Premier League (@premierleague) April 16, 2024

While EPL rumors always favor the division title chase, the Golden Boot award, which is gifted to the highest goalscorer at the end of the season, is often overlooked. It’s no surprise that Haaland, with 36 goals scored last term, is top of the goal-scoring pile this season, but an unsuspecting Chelsea man is putting up a strong resistance.

A Lackluster Chelsea Season Hasn’t Stopped Palmer

Cole Palmer is dead-level with the Norwegian maestro in the EPL Golden Boot race, with 20 goals. It’s a surprise entry for the 21-year-old Englishman, who’s boosting his transfer value by the week.

Manchester City really sold Cole Palmer to Chelsea for him to challenge Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/RIwvjTctpH

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 16, 2024

As Haaland, Palmer’s former City teammate is gunning to become the first player to capture the Golden Boot and EPL title in back-to-back seasons, Chelsea’s Palmer could well finish as the league’s top scorer. In contrast, his team finishes in the bottom half.

The Blues currently sit in ninth position, but Palmer has notably been a huge factor to the team, and a Golden Boot collection wouldn’t be all that surprising. Just a quarter of the Premier League’s title winners have simultaneously owned the player who’s collected the award.

Cole Palmer has now scored more Premier League goals for Chelsea than Kai Havertz.

He’s played 63 fewer league games for the club. pic.twitter.com/hIUkHJf8Rt

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 16, 2024

Non-Penalty Top Scorers

Without the intention of discrediting Palmer’s efforts, a huge statistic has swayed his top-goal scorer position thus far… Penalties.

Palmer has scored more penalty kicks than any other player this season (8), meaning he’s netted just 11 goals in open play. Once you scour the EPL news regarding spot-kick statistics, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins is the league’s top non-penalty goal-scorer, with all 19 of his goals collected in open play this term. Haaland comes in second position with 16, tied with Dominic Solanke, also 16.

A reminder that Ollie Watkins has scored 19 Premier League goals without scoring a single penalty.

What a season 🤫 pic.twitter.com/HWL5zEmNsj

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 16, 2024

There’s a great argument for Palmer’s Golden Boot quest, but as the top of the leaderboard is so tightly contested, the race is very much alive for several players. He’ll at least receive a call from Gareth Southgate for Euro 2024, and at age 21, it’s scary to think how many goals he could be scoring in the years to come.