GOAL counts down the most remarkable campaigns we've seen from a single player in England's top flight since 1992-93
Mohamed Salah was at it again on Sunday. Liverpool's Egyptian King opened the scoring at the Etihad Stadium and then set up Dominik Szoboszlai for the killer second goal in the Reds' hugely significant 2-0 win over Manchester City.
It was the 11th time that Salah had both scored and assisted in the same league game this season. The last player to achieve that feat across a single campaign in Europe's 'Big Five' leagues was Lionel Messi, during Barcelona's treble-winning 2014-15 campaign.
Given we've still not reached the end of February, it's clear that we're watching history in the making here, with Salah unquestionably now leading the race to win the Ballon d'Or thanks to 51 direct goal involvements in just 38 appearances in all competitions.
It also feels inevitable that we'll soon be adding the winger's 2024-25 campaign to our list of the best individual seasons in Premier League history…
Getty Images Sport12Virgil van Dijk (2018-19)
Liverpool made Virgil van Dijk the most expensive defender in football history when they signed him from Southampton in January 2018. During the 2018-19 season, he showed precisely why.
Jurgen Klopp's Reds had been sorely lacking a dominant centre-back and, in Van Dijk, that's exactly what they got. Liverpool may not have won the Premier League in the Dutchman's first full season at the club, but he was so commanding, and so composed, that he was voted player of the year by his fellow professionals.
"I think not everybody saw immediately what kind of player hides in this giant body," Klopp said after Van Dijk's PFA triumph, "but now the whole world is aware of it! From the very first moment, I was so excited to work with you – and now you are the man!"
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport11Kevin De Bruyne (2019-20)
Manchester City didn't manage to win the league in 2019-20, but it wasn't for a lack of trying on the part of Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian is a bona fide Premier League legend, one of the greatest players English football has ever seen, and he was a most worthy recipient of what was the first of two consecutive PFA Player of the Year awards.
As well as providing 20 assists, De Bruyne also netted 13 times in the Premier League as he went about proving himself the best attacking midfielder in world football.
"He has always been incredible since we've been together," City boss Pep Guardiola said during the season. "His commitment is incredible. He's a spectacular player."
AFP10Gareth Bale (2012-13)
Gareth Bale won the PFA Player of the Year award in 2011, but his second triumph two years later was even more impressive, with the Welsh winger netting a career-high 21 league goals.
Many of those strikes were absolutely spectacular, too, and they unsurprisingly attracted the attention of Real Madrid, who signed Bale from Tottenham in the summer of 2013 for a world-record fee.
As then-Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas pointed out, the former left-back benefited enormously from being given a free role up front and really was "tremendous" throughout the season.
Getty Images Sport9Alan Shearer (1994-95)
Manchester United probably would have won every single Premier League title for a decade had Sir Alex Ferguson been able to convince Alan Shearer to move to Old Trafford in the summer of 1992. However, the England international opted instead to join Blackburn Rovers, whom he fired to their first championship success for 81 years in 1995 with 34 goals in 42 matches.
As former Rovers defender Colin Hendry subsequently said, "You can't talk about that season without mentioning Alan Shearer. His number of goals says everything about him and how important he was to us. You obviously need good players in every position to win the league, but you need goals and he was a world-class player."