Report: Man Utd's Bruno Fernandes on course to break Golden Boot record

Now right into the last furlong of the 2020/21 Premier League season, once again the Golden Boot race is heating up, with several familiar names in the mix to take the annual football award presented to the leading goalscorer in the Premier League. Firmly in contention is Manchester United’s new cult hero Bruno Fernandes. With seven league games left of his campaign, the Portuguese currently stands on 16 goals, three fewer than leaders - and notably, multiple past winners - Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool

BettingOdds.com have looked at every single season of the Premier League since it was inaugurated in 1992 and conducted an investigation into how penalties have factored into the Golden Boot pursuit.

In 2020/21, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes is on course to sail past the highest penalty percentage for a singular Premier League campaign’s top goal scorers. Of Fernandes’ 16 league goals this season, 8 have been spot-kicks, resulting in a clear 50% of his overall tally. Of the 154 players who have finished as one of the top 5 goalscorers in a Premier League season, only Andrew Johnson’s 2004-05 campaign with Crystal Palace, in which the striker finished 2nd in the Golden Boot race that year, currently has a higher percentage than Bruno Fernandes in 29 editions of the Premier League. Johnson scored 11 penalties in his 21 goal haul, for a record penalty % of 52.38.

The results of the study can be found below and have been broken down into the following 3 categories: 

• Highest Penalty Percentage For A Premier League Campaign’s Top Goal Scorers (Top 5 Finish)
• Highest Penalty Percentage For A Premier League Golden Boot Winner
• Premier League’s Golden Boot Winners Without Penalties (Changes)

Highest Penalty Percentage For A Premier League Campaign’s Top Goal Scorers (Top 5 Finish)

1. Andrew Johnson (Crystal Palace 2004-05) Golden Boot Position: 2nd  Goals: 21  Penalties: 11  Penalty %: 52.38

2. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United 2020-21) Golden Boot Position*: 3rd  Goals: 16  Penalties: 8  Penalty %: 50.00

3. Frank Lampard (Chelsea 2009-10) Golden Boot Position: 5th  Goals: 22  Penalties: 10  Penalty %: 45.45

4. Dion Dublin (Coventry City 1997-98) Golden Boot Position: 1st  Goals: 18  Penalties: 6  Penalty %: 33.33

5. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United 2002-03) Golden Boot Position: 1st  Goals: 25  Penalties: 8  Penalty %: 32.00

6. Alan Shearer (Newcastle United 2003-04) Golden Boot Position: 2nd  Goals: 22  Penalties: 7  Penalty %: 31.82

7. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool 2020-21) Golden Boot Position: 1st  Goals: 19  Penalties: 6  Penalty %: 31.58

8. Yaya Touré (Manchester City 2013-14) Golden Boot Position: 3rd  Goals: 20  Penalties: 6  Penalty %: 30.00

9. Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers 1994-95) Golden Boot Position: 1st  Goals: 34  Penalties: 10  Penalty %: 29.41

10. Teddy Sheringham (Tottenham Hotspur 1992-93) Golden Boot Position: 1st  Goals: 22  Penalties: 6  Penalty %: 27.27

*ongoing

Highest Penalty Percentage For A Premier League Golden Boot Winner

1. Dion Dublin (Coventry City 1997-98) Goals: 18  Games: 36  Penalties: 6  Penalty %: 33.3

2. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United 2002-03) Goals: 25 Games: 34  Penalties: 8  Penalty %: 32.00

3. Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers 1994-95) Goals: 34  Games: 42  Penalties: 10  Penalty %: 29.41

4. Teddy Sheringham (Tottenham Hotspur 1992-93) Goals: 22  Games: 41  Penalties: 6  Penalty %: 27.27

5. Carlos Tevez (Manchester City 2010-11) Goals: 20  Games: 31  Penalties: 5  Penalty %: 25.00

6. Thierry Henry (Arsenal 2003-04) Goals: 30  Games: 37  Penalties: 7  Penalty %: 23.3

7. = Kevin Phillips (Sunderland 1999-00) Goals: 30  Games: 36  Penalties: 6  Penalty %: 20.00

7. = Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur 2015-16) Goals: 25  Games: 38  Penalties: 5  Penalty %: 20.00

9. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City 2014-15) Goals: 26  Games: 33  Penalties: 5  Penalty %: 19.23

10. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal 2018-19) Goals: 22  Games: 36  Penalties: 4  Penalty %: 18.8

Premier League’s Golden Boot Winners Without Penalties (Changes)

2019-20 Golden Boot Winner: Jamie Vardy  Goals: 23

2019-20 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Danny Ings  Goals: 22

2018-19 Golden Boot Winner: Sadio Mané / Mohamed Salah / Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang  Goals: 22

2018-19 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Sadio Mané  Goals: 22

2016-17 Golden Boot Winner: Harry Kane  Goals: 29

2016-17 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Romelu Lukaku  Goals: 25

2015-16 Golden Boot Winner: Harry Kane  Goals: 25

2015-16 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Harry Kane / Sergio Agüero  Goals: 20

2012-13 Golden Boot Winner: Robin van Persie  Goals: 26

2012-13 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Robin van Persie / Luis Suárez  Goals: 23

2010-11 Golden Boot Winner: Dimitar Berbatov / Carlos Tevez  Goals: 20

2010-11 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Dimitar Berbatov  Goals: 20

2002-03 Golden Boot Winner: Ruud van Nistelrooy  Goals: 25

2002-03 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Thierry Henry  Goals: 21

1998-99 Golden Boot Winner: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink / Dwight Yorke / Michael Owen  Goals: 18

1998-99 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink / Dwight Yorke  Goals: 18

1997-98 Golden Boot Winner: Chris Sutton / Dion Dublin / Michael Owen  Goals: 18

1997-98 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Chris Sutton  Goals: 17

1994-95 Golden Boot Winner: Alan Shearer  Goals: 34

1994-95 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Alan Shearer / Dion Dublin  Goals: 24

1992-93 Golden Boot Winner: Teddy Sheringham  Goals: 22

1992-93 Golden Boot Winner Minus Penalties: Les Ferdinand  Goals: 20

Overall Goal Tally of Golden Boot Winners (shared winners counted singularly): 729

Average Goal Tally For A Golden Boot Winner: 26.04

Overall Goal Tally of Premier League Top Scorers (penalties removed): 658