As Manchester City thrashed Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Erling Haaland shattered the scoring record by a Premier League player in a single season and was praised as a “monster” and a “beast.”
In his debut season in English football, the 22-year-old Norwegian striker scored City’s third goal in their 3-0 victory during the first leg of the quarter-finals. Haaland’s goal marked his 45th for City this season, in just his 39th game, surpassing the record for a Premier League player in all competitions.
Haaland has faced the German champions Bayern Munich five times, having regularly played against them with Borussia Dortmund, but had never beaten them before. Former Bayern and Germany striker Mario Gomez congratulated Manchester City for signing Haaland and praised him as a “monster” and a “beast” that every team should fear.
Despite only touching the ball 28 times, which is fewer than any other starting player on either team, Haaland continues to leave a significant impact.
“His goalscoring is beyond belief. He is the most effective striker I have ever witnessed,” praised former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who played for both Bayern and City.
Joleon Lescott, a former City defender, acknowledged Haaland’s uniqueness and the advantages it provides for the wide players. “It must be fantastic for the wide players to know that they can deliver a cross, and Haaland will make the connection,” he added.
Besides his goalscoring record, Haaland also contributed six assists this season to aid the Treble chasers, including one in this match where he provided a cross for Bernardo Silva’s goal, making it 2-0.
What is the most recent record set by Haaland?
Until now, no Premier League player had scored 45 goals in all competitions since the inception of the league in 1992-93. Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah had scored 44 goals each in 52 games. However, in his first season in English football, Norwegian striker Erling Haaland broke their record, scoring 45 goals for Manchester City in just 39 games.
While Van Nistelrooy achieved the feat in his second season with United and Salah in his first season at Liverpool, Haaland had never played in England before. Haaland has scored a variety of goals, with 28 coming from his left foot, 10 from his right, and seven from his head. Salah and Van Nistelrooy scored more goals with their preferred foot, with Salah scoring 36 with his left foot and Van Nistelrooy scoring 33 with his right foot. Salah scored five goals from outside the box, while Haaland and Van Nistelrooy scored only once from that range.
Regarding penalties, Haaland scored six, Salah one, and Van Nistelrooy 12. The last player to score more goals in a season in the English top-flight was Clive Allen, who scored 49 goals for Tottenham in 1986-87.
Haaland’s record-breaking season continues as he surpasses his previous best of 44 goals in a single campaign, achieved in 2019-20 with 28 for Salzburg and 16 for Dortmund.
His latest goal, his 45th for Manchester City this season, is also his 11th in the Champions League – a personal best. Only Ruud van Nistelrooy has scored more for a Premier League club in a single campaign, with 12 goals in the 2002-03 season.
Haaland has also become City’s highest goalscorer in a season, breaking the previous record of Tommy Johnson’s 38 goals from 1928-29, which had stood for 94 years.
