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Jermain Defoe Is The All Time Premier League Super Sub

By BloggerPosted on Posted in Premier League

The Premier League is stacked with quality players, and managers in the top flight are paid to pick the best players from the start of games.

However, sometimes managers need a plan B and turn to their substitute’s bench in their quest for a goal. Some players were adept at scoring, having stepped off the bench.

Who has scored the most goals after stepping off the bench in the Premier League era?

Jermain Defoe (24 goals scored in the Premier League from the bench)

jermain defoe playing for brighton against spurs
James Boyes, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The diminutive former England forward had a long Premier League career that included spells at West Ham, Tottenham (twice), Portsmouth and Bournemouth.

During that time, Defoe made 495 appearances in the English top flight, scoring 162 goals and producing 33 assists. Of his Premier League goals, 24 came after starting games on the bench. All of his 24 goals as a substitute came in different matches.

In 2001/02, Defoe scored eight goals off the bench for West Ham, his most prolific season from the bench. His 21 appearances as a sub contributed to that particular record.

Olivier Giroud (21 goals scored in the Premier League from the bench)

The former French international appeared for London giants Arsenal and Chelsea in his Premier League career. In nine years in England, Giroud made 255 Premier League appearances, scoring a respectable 90 goals for the capital clubs.

Incredibly, 105 of Giroud’s top-flight appearances came from the substitutes bench. It was only fitting then that the forward scored 21 of his 90 Premier League goals as a substitute.

Giroud scored 17 of his goals as a substitute for Arsenal, with just four coming during his time with Chelsea.

During his time in England, he won the FA Cup on four occasions, three times with Arsenal and once with Chelsea. He was also a runner-up twice in the competition. He also won league titles in France with Montpellier and Italy with Milan before and after his time in the Premier League.

Javier Hernandez (19 goals scored in the Premier League from the bench)

The Mexican forward joined Manchester United ahead of the 2010/11 season and stayed with the Red Devils for six seasons before joining Premier League rivals West Ham United in 2017, where he spent another three seasons.

Hernandez, nicknamed ‘‘Chicharito’ scored 53 goals in 158 appearances for his two clubs in the English top-flight. That 78 of his Premier League appearances came from the bench played a crucial role in the fact that he scored 19 goals having not initially started games.

The majority of Hernandez’s goals from the bench in the top-flight came at United, where he scored 14 times as a sub, and on five occasions for West Ham United.

His goals sometimes proved to be vital, too, as five of his goals from the bench were winners.

Kanu (17 goals scored as a substitute in the Premier League from the bench)

kanu
Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The former Nigerian international played for Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion, and Portsmouth in the English top flight, making 273 Premier League appearances.

During his career, he scored 54 goals in the Premier League, 17 of which came from the substitutes’ bench. Seven of the bench goals came during his six-year spell at north London giants Arsenal.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (17 goals scored as a substitute in the Premier League from the bench)

The Norwegian gained a reputation as something of a super-sub during his 12 seasons with Manchester United, as he was accustomed to coming off the bench and scoring goals.

Solskjaer made 235 appearances for the Red Devils in the English top flight, scoring a respectable 91 goals, 17 of which were scored after coming off the bench.

His most memorable goalscoring substitute appearance came in February 1999, as he came off the bench to score four goals in an 8-1 victory at Nottingham Forest.

No other player has ever scored four goals after coming on as a substitute in the English top-flight. In fact, only six other substitutes have scored hat-tricks in the Premier League.

Daniel Sturridge (17 goals scored as a substitute in the Premier League from the bench)

Sturridge appeared for five different clubs in the English Premier League: Manchester City, Chelsea, Bolton Wanderers, Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion from 2006 until 2019.

During his Premier League career, the former England international made 218 appearances, finding the net 78 times and also producing 21 assists for his teammates, with 17 of his goals coming off the bench.

Peter Crouch (16 goals scored as a substitute in the Premier League from the bench)

peter-crouch

Crouch had an illustrious Premier League career, having played for Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Southampton, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Stoke City and Burnley in the English top flight.

From 2001 until 2019, the former England international made 468 appearances, scoring 108 goals, of which 16 were off the bench.

Once again, the fact that Crouch scored goals from the bench is not surprising. In November 2017, he broke the record for most appearances as a Premier League sub, making his 143rd appearance in the top flight from the bench. James Milner surpassed the record in April 2021, playing for Liverpool in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United.

Danny Welbeck (15 goals scored as a substitute in the Premier League from the bench)

Danny Welbeck is the only still active player on our list. The forward made his Premier League debut for Manchester United in season 2008/09 and has gone on to make 346 appearances and counting.

During his top-flight career, Welbeck has also represented Arsenal, Watford and Brighton Hove Albion, scoring 73 goals, with 15 of the goals coming from the bench. Eight of Welbeck’s 15 goals off the bench have been for the Seagulls.

The forward picked up a Premier League winners medal with Manchester United in season 2012/13 and also won the FA Cup with Arsenal in seasons 2014/15 and 2016/17.

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