Heung-min Son’s prolific run of form piles the pressure on Mo Salah in Golden Boot race

Paul Okey
11 April 2022

Tottenham forward Heung-min Son is now only three behind Liverpool ace Mo Salah in Premier League goalscoring charts following hat-trick against Aston Villa.

There was talk of Mo Salah smashing through the 30-goal mark after he hit 16 goals in his first 20 Premier League games.

Such was his goalscoring form that even a prolonged spell away with Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations failed to dent the confidence in him to claim the Golden Boot.

However, while he has still netted a not too shabby four in nine since his return to the Premier League, he has looked a shadow of his pre-January self.

The Liverpool striker has failed to notch in his last three Premier League appearances, extending to four in all competitions, his longest barren run of the season.

He remains odds on to finish the season top of the goalscoring charts but is now 1/8 with Planet Sport Bet having been 1/16 going into the weekend.

One of the reasons for the lack of confidence in Salah is the prolific run of form of Tottenham's Heung-min Son.

The South Korean helped himself to a superb hat-trick against Aston Villa at the weekend to make it six goals in his last three (and eight in seven).

He is now the nearest challenger to Salah in the goalscoring charts, on 17, and having been backable at around 40/1 in some places at the start of April, is now just 6/1 to overhaul Salah come the end of the season.

He has seven matches to do it but the free-scoring nature of Tottenham in recent weeks will encourage supporters of the 29-year-old - Spurs have scored 25 in their last seven.

But while the goals have dried up somewhat for Salah, Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota continues to tick over, with a goal in each of his last three Premier League games lifting him to 15 for the season.

Jota is 20/1 to finish as the division's top scorer. That is the same price as Harry Kane, who after a brief flurry of goals in late February and early March has now gone three games without finding the back of the net.

However, boss Antonio Conte will not be too displeased - the England striker has provided five assists in that spell.