Sporting fans were already yearning for his goals, and so was he. Viktor Gyokeres put an end to his goal drought against Vitória SC (3-0). After five consecutive matches without scoring, the Swede, who had already shown his frustration over the goal that was disallowed in Barcelos,  returned to doing what he does best: scoring.

The Nordic striker was a key figure in the duel against the team from Guimarães and responded with two goals. A brace that propelled Gyokeres to an unprecedented record in over 10 years of national football. If we count the goals scored in all four domestic competitions, the striker has reached 38 goals. The last goalscorer to reach this mark was Radamel Falcao, for FC Porto, in the 2010/11 season.

In recent years, and in addition to the Colombian, Darwin Núñez (34 goals), Jackson Martínez (31 goals) and Jonas (36 goals) were able to reach the 30-goal mark. Before Falcao, only Cardozo, in the 2009/10 season, matched Gyokeres' numbers, with 38 goals, but the Swede from Sporting still has five games to play until the end of the current season.

38 golos de Gyokeres: é o melhor registo de um jogador no futebol 🇵🇹 desde 2010/11, quando Falcao também apontou 38 golos pic.twitter.com/rL5GWC77NI

— Playmaker (@playmaker_PT) April 22, 2024

The path towards the relentless Jardel and Peyroteo

In front of a José Alvalade Stadium that was 'bursting at the seams', the Lions' number nine once again delighted Sporting fans. He celebrated twice and reached 26 goals scored at the Lions' home ground. The remaining 12 goals were scored away from home.

Currently, Viktor Gyokeres has 24 goals in the I Liga, in addition to nine others in the Portuguese Cup and League Cup. In the Europa League, the Swede has scored five goals. 38 goals and 14 assists in 45 games in his debut season in Portugal.

Although these numbers from the Nordic player have made people forget names like Slimani, Liedson or Bas Dost - who scored 34 goals in his debut season in the League, in 2016/17 -, the truth is that the Swede is still far from two historic names of the green and whites. We are talking, of course, about Mário Jardel and Fernando Peyroteo.

Let's start with the Brazilian. After 56 goals in 51 matches for FC Porto in 1999/2000, the canary returned to Portugal and did it again, this time for the Alvalade club. There were 55 goals in 42 matches. 'Super Mário' scored 42 goals for Sporting in the I Liga and was instrumental in the Lions winning the league title in the 2001/02 season. Gyokeres is, therefore, the Lions player with the best record since then.

Gyokeres chegou aos 38 golos na época: melhor registo de um jogador do 🦁 Sporting desde 2001/02, quando Jardel marcou 55 golos pic.twitter.com/xmFUwt8heF

— Playmaker (@playmaker_PT) April 22, 2024

Further away from this aforementioned duo is Fernando Peyroteo. The eternal violin of the Alvalade club scored 58 goals in the 1945/46 season. Before that, the Lions' goalscorer had scored 57 goals in 1937/38 and 50 goals in 1939/40.

What does Gyokeres need to do until the end?

"As a forward, I always want to score. It's not a good thing, but I don't think about myself. Sometimes, in some games we don't have many chances, but you can create spaces for others and they can score. We played well, we won the games and it was good even though I didn't score", said Gyokeres to Sport TV after the match against Vitória SC.

After scoring a brace against the team from Guimarães, the Swede has five more games - four in the I Liga and the Portuguese Cup final - until the end of the season to improve his record of 38 goals and get closer to the Olympus of Sporting's goalscorers. With 23 goals in the I Liga, the Lions' goalscorer, who has already reached names like Nuno Gomes and Lisandro López, is one goal away from equaling Liedson (2004/05), Falcao (2009/10), Domingos Paciência (1995/96), Jorge Cadete (1991/92) and Rui Águas (1990/91).

At a time when the fight for the league's top scorer award is heating up, Gyokeres has a three-goal advantage over Mujica, from Arouca. The Lions' striker will face FC Porto, Portimonense, Estoril and Desportivo de Chaves. The Spaniard, on the other hand, could score against Gil Vicente, Estrela da Amadora, Benfica or Vitória SC.

Leia Também: Gyokeres lançou dois 'Potes' rumo ao título: Notas do Sporting-Vitória SC (Portuguese version)

Leia Também: Viktor Gyokeres deixa aviso ao Sporting: "Isto ainda não acabou" (Portuguese version)