Erling Haaland’s feat in equalling the record for the number of Premier League goals in a season makes a mockery of the idea that it takes time to settle in the English top flight.
The Norway powerhouse scored a penalty during Manchester City’s 2-1 victory away at Fulham on Sunday, bringing his total goals scored in the Premier League to 34, tying him with Alan Shearer and Andy Cole for the league record.
In the process, the 22-year-old scored his 50th goal of the season for City in all competitions. He has played in all of City’s games this season.
The Norwegian’s success record is so high that it even puts his illustrious predecessors, who played in an age when seasons consisted of 42 games, in the shadow.
Shearer made an appearance in all 42 of Blackburn’s games during the 1994–1995 season to lead them to the championship, whereas Cole played for Newcastle in 40 games during the previous season.
Haaland has only required 30 games to accomplish the record-setting total of 34 goals, and he has already surpassed Mohamed Salah of Liverpool to establish the new mark for a season consisting of 38 games.
According to what Shearer said in an interview with The Athletic, “If you were building a center-forward from the ground up, Erling is what you would be left with.”
“He is a goal machine, someone who is quick and direct, who is physically strong and good in the air, who can score with both feet, and whose positioning is fantastic,” one commentator said of the player.
The resolve with which City, one of Europe’s top teams, fought off competition from other top clubs in Europe to recruit the striker one year ago has been repaid in spectacular form.
It was suggested that Pep Guardiola’s team may be thrown off course by the acquisition of Haaland, but it has been shown that this is not the case. Guardiola’s team won consecutive league championships while playing in large part without an offensive focal point.
“He is a gift to all of us,” Guardiola remarked of the player. “He is a tremendous competitor, and his mentality is right where it needs to be.”
This season, Haaland has already scored fifty goals in all competitions, and City is in striking distance of matching Manchester United’s record treble from 1998/99 season.
The English champions will play Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League and will play Manchester United in the final of the FA Cup on June 3. Both matches will take place in England.
When Haaland made the decision a year ago to follow in his father’s footsteps and join City, the stage he coveted was just like this one.
Prior to a purchase sponsored by Abu Dhabi in 2008 that made Manchester City one of the wealthiest teams in the world and altered their fortunes, Alf-Inge Haaland was a tough-tackling midfielder known for his tenacity on the pitch.
Erling, on the other hand, was a striker by birth and has already established himself as a celebrity on a worldwide scale.
The gradual ascent of Alf-Inge’s son through the levels of European football has been linked to his father’s meticulous handling of the situation.
Haaland made his debut for the club in his hometown, Bryne, when he was only 15 years old. In 2017, he signed with Molde, who was coached at the time by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, a former striker for Manchester United.
After less than two years, he relocated once more, this time to Austria to play for the club Salzburg.
At the Under-20 World Cup in 2019, Haaland gave an early indication of the devastation he is capable of wreaking by scoring nine times in his team’s rout of Honduras. The final score was 12-0.
However, it was his meteoric rise to prominence in the Champions League during the 2019–20 season that drew the most attention, as he scored eight goals in just six matches during that competition.
There were rumors circulating about a possible reunion with Solskjaer, who was the manager of United at the time. However, Borussia Dortmund emerged victorious in the competition thanks to their stellar track record of nurturing new talent.
After two and a half years and 86 goals in 89 appearances, Haaland had his choice of clubs owing to a cannily negotiated 60 million euro ($67 million, £53 million) buyout clause that shortchanged Dortmund. In other words, Dortmund was the one who came out on the losing end of the deal.
The goals scored by Haaland have helped City capitalize on their opportunities, bringing them closer to the coveted treble and solidifying their position as one of the most successful teams in the world.