Brendan Rodgers believes Luis Suarez is capable of smashing the individual record of 34 Barclays Premier League goals in a season if he maintains his current hot streak.
Fresh from signing his new long-term contract, Suarez treated Anfield to another virtuoso display against Cardiff with a double blast in the 3-1 win moving him on to 19, a tally that would have been good enough to win the Golden Boot seven times in the modern era.
Andy Cole (1993-94) and Alan Shearer (1994-95) hold the distinction of netting 34 times, but they achieved that feat when a Premier League season was 42 games. Shearer (1995-96) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2007-08), meanwhile, set the bar at 31 goals in a 38-game campaign.
Suarez is on course to become the first player to score 20 Premier League goals in a season before new year, and will achieve that if he nets against Manchester City or Chelsea.
To give an idea of the ratio Suarez is producing, Shearer’s total on December 23 1995 was 17; Ronaldo, by contrast, had scored 11 times.
Liverpool manager Rodgers feels he is capable of eclipsing both those tallies as he compared his form to Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
‘He looks like he can score a hat-trick in every game, doesn’t he?’ said Rodgers.
‘He can do, because he has got that quality. He will certainly push it close.
‘You can put him in that bracket of world class. I think one or two of his off-field antics have maybe detracted from his performance level, but you see a different man now.
‘He is mature. You see he is happy, confident and at peace with everything in his life on and off the field.
‘Luis is just a brilliant player, a joy to work with. He gives me everything, every day of his life.’
Written by Steve Milne – have your say below 🙂
