The Five Defenders Who Have Scored The Most Goals In The Premier League Era

A defender’s job is pretty simple: stop the ball from going into your team’s goal. However, over the last 30 years, their role has evolved.

Managers now ask their centre-backs to play out from the back and venture into midfield, while fullbacks have begun to play more like wingers.

Generally, though, defenders are not prolific in front of goal but, in today’s post, we will be looking at the ones who were the best at putting the ball in the back of the net.

Press the next page as we count down the five defenders who have scored the most times in Premier League history.

5) Gary Cahill – 28

The defender was strong at heading in goals from corners, but he had pretty good technique with the ball at his feet as well, enabling him to score his fair share from open play.

Cahill has played nearly all of his professional career in the Premier League but he has now dropped down to play for Bournemouth in the Championship.

4) Leighton Baines – 32

The former Wigan Athletic and Everton left-back was a superb crosser of the ball, but his other main talent was scoring goals from free-kicks outside of the box.

Baines was an excellent set-piece taker and he played a key role in helping Everton finish in the top 10 on a regular basis under the guidance of David Moyes.

3) Ian Marshall – 33

The defender’s inclusion on this list is debatable as he was deployed as a striker but, unlike Ashley Young who could have also featured on this list, the vast majority of Marshall’s career was as a defender.

Marshall had two standout seasons: the 1993/94 campaign where he scored 10 in 29 appearances for Ipswich Town, and in 1996/1997 when he bagged eight in 28 games for Leicester.

2) David Unsworth – 38

The centre-half scored for three different clubs in the Premier League (Everton, West Ham and Portsmouth) but he spent most of his time on Merseyside.

Unsworth was, on occasion, deployed as a left-back so he did get into scoring positions more than the average defender.

1) John Terry – 41

The former Chelsea captain was excellent at scoring from corners and, considering the long career in the top flight, it is not a surprise that he comes out on top.

Terry played for the Blues in the Premier League for 19 years, with the 2011/12 season being his most prolific, scoring six times in total.

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