The 2018-19 season of the Premier League proved to be one of the greatest ever in the history of the competition, with Manchester City and Liverpool fighting out an edge-of-the-seat nail-biting thriller in the title race.
It was City, however, who had the last laugh in the title race, as Pep Guardiola’s side clinched their second consecutive domestic title, denying Liverpool the chance to claim their first league title since 1990.
The recently-concluded season witnessed some superb individual performances, with a staggering total of 1072 goals scored over the course of the campaign.
That number last season was the highest in over a decade and then there were players who lit up the scenes with their unparalleled goalscoring prowess, as well as incredible creativity.
There were a few players who proved themselves to be adept at scoring as well as assisting, and while their numbers aren’t likely to hold out a candle for someone like Cristiano Ronaldo, they are certainly good enough to enter the record books for the 2018-19 Premier League season.
As we look back at the recently-concluded season in detail, here are 5 players with most goal contributions:-
The Belgian might have departed for Real Madrid at the end of this past season but his tally of 16 goals and 15 assists will once again remind the fans at Stamford Bridge that the Blues are likely to find it very difficult to fill in the void left by his departure.
Hazard was undoubtedly Chelsea’s most influential player last season by a long margin and it doesn’t require a rocket scientist to figure out that he was the difference between a lacklustre mid-table finish and an impressive third-place finish in the Premier League.
The 27-year-old was often forced to play out of position and fill in as a centre-froward to cover for the failure of Giroud, Morata and later on, Higuain, but he held his own and probably saved Maurizio Sarri a lot of blushes in his first season.
Hazard’s prolific run of form was instrumental in Chelsea securing a third-place finish in the league, while the maestro also played a key role in the club’s run to the final of the Carabao Cup and Europa League triumph.
The Egyptian wizard bagged 32 goals in the 2017-18 campaign, and while he fell some way short of replicating those insane numbers last term, the 27-year-old’s exploits were enough to earn him the Golden Boot for the second successive season. But he had to share it with the likes of Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this time around (h/t ESPN).
Salah complemented his strike partners Mane and Firmino brilliantly and shrugged off those claims of him being a ‘one season wonder’, proving his worth as a big-game player on numerous occasions over the course of the season to keep the Reds within striking distance of eventual champions Man City.
The highlights of the 27-year-old’s blistering run in the 2018-19 season include the hat-trick against Bournemouth and a double in the 5-1 victory over Arsenal, whilst also scoring the winner against Brighton in both the legs.
Man City’s battering ram propelled the Citizens to yet another Premier League title, equalling his tally of 21 goals from the 2017-18 season. The 31-year-old netted 21 goals in 25 appearances in City’s triumphant 17-18 campaign, and while he took 33 games to replicate the same feat last season, Aguero’s contribution was crucial nevertheless.
Aguero missed out on a second Golden Boot of his Premier League career by the finest of margins but he scored some really match-defining goals and reminded the fans as to why he is one of the best in his position in Europe. The 31-year-old bagged hat-tricks against Arsenal and Chelsea, the latter being in an emphatic 6-0 drubbing of the Blues.
The Argentinian scored the all-important winners against West Ham and Burnley, whilst also opening the scoring in the 2-1 victory over Liverpool in January and adding to his tally in the Manchester derby.
Aguero took his overall tally in the league to 163, surpassing the likes of Michael Owen, Jermain Defoe and Robin van Persie to climb up to 6th in the all-time Premier League top scorer’s list.
The Gabonese international’s first full season at the Emirates was a resounding success and his strike partnership with Alexandre Lacazette up front was instrumental in whatever the Gunners managed to achieve in their first campaign under Unai Emery.
Aubameyang netted 22 goals and kept up his record of surpassing the 20-goal mark in the league for the fourth successive season in a row.
Aubameyang lit up the scene with his blistering pace and ice-cool finishing over the course of the campaign, sharing the Golden Boot with the likes of Mane and Salah as a result of his consistently impressive performances.
The 30-year-old also netted 8 goals en route to Arsenal’s march to the finals of the Europa League, including a hat-trick in the second leg of the semi-final victory over Valencia.
The second player from Man City to be included in the list, the jet-heeled winger was also one of the primary architects of the Citizens’ Premier League triumph. Aguero was one of the key figures but, in all honesty, it was a collective effort from all the players, and Sterling was definitely one of the team’s standout performers.
The 24-year-old bagged the award for The Best Young Player of the Year (h/t Evening Standard) with his stellar run of form, forming a formidable front trio with the likes of Aguero and Leroy Sane, who also made a significant contribution.
Sterling scored twice and assisted once in City’s 6-0 demolition of Chelsea and netted a hat-trick against Watford but his most productive outing of the season came against Southampton, where he bagged 2 goals and 2 assists in a 6-1 victory.