A blistering start to life in England saw Diego Costa hit seven goals in his opening four appearances for Chelsea back in August, making himself and his new club the early favourites for Premier League honours in his debut season in England.
Fast forward 26 games and Chelsea are cantering towards the title and Costa is still the division’s most prolific scorer with 19 goals, although it is a spot he shares with Tottenham’s Harry Kane, a player who did not score his first Premier League goal until November 2.
Costa’s latest hamstring injury puts Kane firmly in the driving seat to finish the Premier League’s top scorer in his first season as a bona fide starter, but a more detailed look into the division’s strike force reveals an alternative candidate with a claim to being labelled the most deadly.
Of players to have netted five or more goals this season, no one has found the back of the net more frequently than Arsenal's Olivier Giroud. The French frontman, who missed the best part of three months earlier in the season due to injury, boasts a return of 0.87 goals per 90 minutes, the highest in the Premier League.
Despite seven goals in his last six appearances, the slick Giroud still has five goals fewer than his Chelsea and Tottenham counterparts, but while he is unlikely to topple that duo to finish as Golden Boot winner, the rate at which he has scored his goals is more impressive than Costa’s 0.84 and Kane’s 0.81. If we exclude goals scored from penalties, Kane’s goalscoring rate falls to 0.73.
While Giroud has inspired an Arsenal resurgence since returning from his lay-off, another player who would have liked to have seen more playing time this season is Newcastle’s 11-goal forward, Papiss Cisse. The Senegalese international has been plagued by injury and suspension this season, yet has delivered 0.82 non-penalty goals for every 90 minutes he has spent on the pitch, ranking him the third most prolific striker just behind Giroud and Costa.
While Cisse would be the surprise inclusion on this list, one name is conspicuous by its absence. You would be forgiven for expecting Sergio Aguero to feature in any discussion of predatory strikers, but the Manchester City forward falls short of his rivals when comparing non-penalty goals per 90 minutes. The Argentine may have 17 goals to his name this season, making him a credible contender for the Golden Boot, but excluding his five penalties sees Aguero’s strike rate fall from 0.75 to 0.58 goals per 90 minutes – well behind the rate maintained by Costa, Kane and Giroud.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Stage 2
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
SUE%20GRAY'S%20FINDINGS
%3Cp%3E%22Whatever%20the%20initial%20intent%2C%20what%20took%20place%20at%20many%20of%20these%20gatherings%20and%20the%3Cbr%3Eway%20in%20which%20they%20developed%20was%20not%20in%20line%20with%20Covid%20guidance%20at%20the%20time.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22Many%20of%20these%20events%20should%20not%20have%20been%20allowed%20to%20happen.%20It%20is%20also%20the%20case%20that%20some%20of%20the%3Cbr%3Emore%20junior%20civil%20servants%20believed%20that%20their%20involvement%20in%20some%20of%20these%20events%20was%20permitted%20given%20the%20attendance%20of%20senior%20leaders.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22The%20senior%20leadership%20at%20the%20centre%2C%20both%20political%20and%20official%2C%20must%20bear%20responsibility%20for%20this%20culture.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20found%20that%20some%20staff%20had%20witnessed%20or%20been%20subjected%20to%20behaviours%20at%20work%20which%20they%20had%20felt%20concerned%20about%20but%20at%20times%20felt%20unable%20to%20raise%20properly.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20was%20made%20aware%20of%20multiple%20examples%20of%20a%20lack%20of%20respect%20and%20poor%20treatment%20of%20security%20and%20cleaning%20staff.%20This%20was%20unacceptable.%22%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster