Luis Suarez was distraught following Liverpool’s draw with Crystal Palace on Monday, but the Uruguayan can take a measure of solace in the fact that he made history.
Suarez scored his 31st Premier League goal of the season during the wild, 3-3 draw. He joins Cristiano Ronaldo and Alan Shearer, who hold the record for most goals in a 38-game Premier League campaign.
Suarez can break the record on Sunday by scoring against Newcastle United.
Shearer scored 31 for Blackburn Rovers in 1995-96, and Ronaldo equaled his tally in 2007-08.
Shearer and Andy Cole hold the absolute record for goals in a single Premier League season with 34, although they did it in a 42-game season. Cole set the bar with Newcastle in 1993-94, and Shearer matched him in 1994-95 (with Blackburn).
Suarez’s goal-scoring exploits helped him claim both of English soccer’s major Player of the Season awards. The 27-year-old won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year prize last week and scooped the journalists’ Footballer of the Year award on Monday.
But Suarez probably isn’t concerned with records and honors right now. Liverpool might have lost its chance at winning the 2013-14 Premier League title with the draw against Crystal Palace, and a heartbroken Suarez wept after the final whistle.