Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane propelled Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League success under Jurgen Klopp, though where do the star duo rank as Football FanCast goes through the Reds’ greatest goalscorers?
15 Ian St John Appearances: 425 Goals: 118
The late Ian St John, who passed away in 2021, stands as Liverpool’s 15th-highest goalscorer, having netted 118 times across 425 appearances for the club between 1961 and 1971.
The club’s record signing, he formed a formidable partnership with the great Roger Hunt, spearheading Liverpool’s return to the pinnacle of English football in the 1960s. Indeed, in Liverpool’s title-winning 1963/64 campaign, St John scored 21 goals.
ANFIELD HIGHLIGHT: St John’s most significant moment for Liverpool came in the 1965 FA Cup final, with a diving header securing an extra-time victory over Leeds United, marking the Reds’ first success in the competition.
14 Sadio Mane Appearances: 269 Goals: 120
Mane outperformed his xG in all but one of his seasons at Liverpool between 2017 and 2022, when FBref tracked such data, proving just what a clinical finisher the Reds had on their hands.
Mane’s absence has been felt since he left for Bayern Munich, with the Senegal forward having established himself as one of the Premier League’s best all-round forwards after joining Liverpool from Southampton in 2016. Along with Salah and Roberto Firmino, he formed one of the most formidable attacks in European football.
ANFIELD HIGHLIGHT: Mane’s double in a win over Wolves on the final day of the 2018/19 campaign saw him share the Premier League’s Golden Boot award with Salah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
13 Dick Forshaw Appearances: 288 Goals: 123
Dixie Dean has been in the headlines due to Erling Haaland’s sensational form this season, though the Everton icon was not the only striker thriving on Merseyside in the 1920s.
Dick Forshaw, who also played for Everton (he is the only player to win league titles with both of the biggest Merseyside teams), netted 123 times for the Reds between 1921 and 1927.
ANFIELD HIGHLIGHT: Forshaw scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Manchester United during the 1926/27 season, when he netted 29 times in 35 league games.
12 Jack Parkinson Appearances: 219 Goals: 128
Five goals ahead of Forshaw is Jack Parkinson, who played for the Reds from 1903 up until 1914.
Parkinson, a two-cap England international, netted 128 times in 219 games before leaving for Bury, where he spent one season before retiring to become a newsagent.
ANFIELD HIGHLIGHT: Parkinson finished as the league’s top goalscorer, with 31 strikes in 30 matches, in the 1909/10 season.
11 Sam Raybould Appearances: 226 Goals: 130
Next on the list is Sam Raybould, who clocked up 20,340 minutes (according to LFCHistory.net) for Liverpool between 1900 and 1907.
A prolific forward, Raybould courted controversy when he was suspended for seven months for agreeing to sign for Portsmouth, who were adjudged to have made an illegal approach. However, his tally of 67 goals in 100 games was a club record until it was broken by Salah in 2020.
ANFIELD HIGHLIGHT: Raybould scored 32 goals in 34 games in 1902/03, a league record that stood until 1931.
10 Harry Chambers Appearances: 339 Goals: 151
Nicknamed ‘Smiler’, Harry Chambers was one of the most proficient strikers of the post-First World War era of the 1920s. He helped Liverpool to back-to-back league titles in 1922 and 1923.
Due to the war, in which he served, Chambers had to wait four years for his Liverpool debut, yet went on to etch his name into the club’s history books nevertheless.
ANFIELD HIGHLIGHT: In a 5-1 demolition of rivals Everton in 1922, Chambers scored a hat-trick. Across the 1921/22 and 1922/23 seasons, he scored 41 times in 72 games.
9 Michael Owen Appearances: 297 Goals: 158
Michael Owen burst onto the scene in sensational style in the late 1990s. By 2001, he had a Ballon d’Or to his name.
Owen became Liverpool’s goalscorer on his Premier League debut in May 1997. The following season, he shared the competition’s Golden Boot, and was the Reds’ top goalscorer in every campaign between 1997/98 and 2003/04, when he left for Real Madrid.
A hamstring injury blighted his time at Anfield, and he would go on to suffer more issues across his career, but he truly had it all in his youth, with explosive pace, quick feet and finishing prowess.
ANFIELD HIGHLIGHT: Owen’s quickfire double secured Liverpool a superb comeback victory against Arsenal in the 2001 FA Cup final as the Reds took home the second of three cups in a memorable campaign.
8 Sir Kenny Dalglish Appearances: 515 Goals: 172
Sir Kenny Dalglish might be eighth on this list, but not many players are more synonymous with Liverpool than the Scotsman.
Signed to replace another club great – Kevin Keegan – in 1977, Dalglish scored on his league debut and went on to win six First Division titles and three European Cups as a player and then manager, leading Liverpool’s attack during their dominant period decade in the 1980s.
ANFIELD HIGHLIGHT: As player-manager, Dalglish only selected himself for 21 league games in the 1985-86 season. The Reds won the double that campaign, with Dalglish fittingly scoring the winner against Chelsea to secure the title on the final day of the season.
7 Robbie Fowler Appearances: 369 Goals: 183
Robbie Fowler had two spells at Liverpool, though his best form came in his first stint between 1993 and 2001.
Fowler holds a record for being the only player to score 30-plus goals in each of his first three Premier League seasons, while he played in every single match of the 1994/95 campaign.
ANFIELD HIGHLIGHT: Fowler scored the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history when he netted three times in four minutes and 33 seconds against Arsenal in 1994, before it was broken by future Reds forward Sadio Mane while he was at Southampton.
6 Steven Gerrard Appearances: 710 Goals: 186
One of the Premier League’s greatest midfielders, Steven Gerrard features high on this list despite not playing as a striker – showing just how good he was.
Gerrard spent the vast majority of his playing career at Anfield and won two FA Cups, three League Cups and, of course, the Champions League in 2005.
ANFIELD HIGHLIGHT: Gerrard scored one of Liverpool’s goals as they came from behind to force Milan to penalties in that famous Champions League final in Istanbul. He was named Man of the Match and the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.
