Cape Town - Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has become the most prolific scoring African-born player in Premier League history following his hat-trick in the 5-0 hammering of Manchester United.
Sunday's three goals saw him eclipse the mark of hitherto pacesetter Ivorian Didier Drogba.
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Salah's goal tally now stands at 107 in only 167 matches. Drogba's record stood at 104 Premiership goals in 254 appearances.
Salah's teammate Senegalese Sadio Mane, who came on as a substitute in Sunday's match, is next on the list of highest African Premiership scores with 100 strikes.
106 – Mohamed Salah has now scored 106 goals in the Premier League, making him now the outright top African goalscorer in the competition’s history, surpassing Didier Drogba (104). Pharaoh. pic.twitter.com/Uj14sS9thV
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 24, 2021
He is followed by Togo-born Emmanuel Adebayor with 97. Next is Nigerian Yakubu Ayegbeni on 95 to make up the record of the five leading African scorers.
After this sublime performance, Salah can lay claim to being the best player in the world after scoring 15 goals in his last 12 matches. Apart from his hat-trick, he also had a hand in the opening goal.
🇬![CDATA[]]>🇳 Naby Keita finds the opener against Man United in a clash which sees the Red devils trailing Liverpool 4-0 at Old Trafford 🥴#PL | #MUNLIV pic.twitter.com/odZWHDRwD8
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 24, 2021
He was a constant threat whenever in possession, and his three-goal haul on Sunday was the end product of clinical finishing, which on the day went unmatched.
He also became the first Premiership player in an away team to score a hat-trick at Old Trafford.
@Herman_Gibbs