The goals just keep coming for Clint Dempsey. Four days after leading the U.S. national team to a historic 1-0 victory over Italy, Dempsey was back in action with Fulham on Sunday, scoring twice in a 5-0 English Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Dempsey now has 18 goals in all club competitions this season and 12 in EPL play, matching the record for an American player he set in 2010-11. No matter how you look at it, Clint Dempsey is among soccer's top scorers right now. (AP Photo)
Newly acquired Russian forward Pavel Pogrebnyak scored the other three goals for Fulham, which won its third consecutive match and climbed into eighth place with a record of 9-9-9. The Cottagers led 2-0 when Dempsey scored his first goal of the afternoon in the 56th minute. He raced onto a long through ball from Danny Murphy, skillfully rounded the Wolves goalkeeper, and finished inside the right post (watch highlights here). Pogrebnyak added his third goal five minutes later, and Dempsey put the visitors out of their misery in the 83rd minute, latching onto a short pass from Mahamadou Diarra and hitting a left-footed shot into the roof of the Wolves' net.
Dempsey is now among the hottest players in the world. In the past two months, he has scored 10 goals—nine for Fulham and one for the U.S. He is the seventh-leading scorer in EPL play, and the 18 goals he has scored for the Cottagers this season far surpasses the personal best of 13 he set in 2010-11—and there are still two months left in the current season.
"One of my favorite parts of the game is scoring goals and helping your team win games. To come up big when your team needs you is a great feeling. This year it’s something I’ve gotten to experience quite a few times," Dempsey told *Sports Illustrated* last week in Genoa. "Hopefully there are more goals in me and I can get to the 20 mark in all competitions... You want to be making the most of your career and having seasons like this makes you feel good when you look back on what you’ve done."
Fulham will visit Aston Villa (6-9-12), home to U.S. goalkeeper Brad Guzan and defender Eric Lichaj, next Saturday.