Mohamed Salah breaks Premier League goal record against Leeds

A certain robotic Norwegian goal-gobbler may be scrawling his serial number across England's record books this season but Mohamed Salah served up his own piece of history against Leeds United on Monday night.

Diogo Jota's tackle on a dozing Weston McKennie set the freshly oiled-cogs of Liverpool's counter-attacking machine whirring towards the end of the first half. Salah took the turnover as a cue to dart behind Leeds' scattered backline before blasting a first-time effort beyond Illan Meslier.

The goal put Liverpool in a commanding 2-0 lead - in a match which would descend into a 6-1 rout at Elland Road - but its significance stretched beyond that. By picking out the top corner with his stronger side, Salah rifled in the 106th left-footed goal of his Premier League career. In the modern history of England's top flight, no player has ever found the net as often with their left boot.

By the time Cody Gakpo coolly rolled the ball to Salah at the culmination of another crisp transition for the visitors in the second half, Leeds must surely have known what would happen next. Salah duly chopped onto his record-breaking left side, bending a 107th sinistral goal beyond Meslier's feeble flap.

Most left-footed goals in Premier League history

All data via Opta, correct as of 18 April 2023

Salah recently surpassed Robbie Fowler's overall Premier League haul to become Liverpool's most prolific scorer since the competition's inception in 1992. The left-leaning Egyptian snatched another gong away from the property magnate by besting his tally of 105 left-footed goals.

Former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Robin van Persie is a close second with 94 left-footed goals. The Dutch striker previously held the record for most Premier League goals with their weak foot - having netted 39 via his right boot - but Son Heung-min has since surpassed Van Persie, only narrowly missing out on this list with 42 left-footed goals despite naturally favouring his right side.

The only other active Premier League player with more than 50 left-footed goals is Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez (65).

A whopping 79% of Salah's top-flight goals in England have come on his stronger side. Among the division's most prolific left-footers, only David Silva (82%) is more reliant upon his favoured flank.

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However, Salah is intriguingly more efficient with his right foot. In his Premier League career, Salah has scored with 16% of his left-footed shots (107 of 649) compared to 21% of his right-footed attempts (21 of 99).

This unlikely discrepancy appears chiefly because Salah only lets rip with his supposedly weaker right foot when the chance of scoring is greater - therefore he would be expected to post a greater accuracy on his right side. It is highly unlikely to see Salah attempt a shot from outside the box with anything other than his left boot.

As Jurgen Klopp revelled in what he described as Liverpool's "best game" of the season, Salah may take some pleasure from besting Erling Haaland in at least one scoring category.

Although, Salah's record may not stand for long. Haaland has already racked up 20 left-footed Premier League goals this season - as many as the competition's all-time top scorer Alan Shearer managed in his entire career.

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