On May 3, 2023, a historic event took place at the Manchester Etihad Stadium. Norwegian striker Erling Haaland scored his 35th Premier League goal this season, breaking the league record for number of goals in a season. The previous achievement belonged to Andy Cole and Alan Shearer (34 each). It is noteworthy that these famous strikers achieved their record results back in the mid-nineties, when the Premier League consisted of 22 teams. That is, they had 42 matches, while Haaland had 38 so far. Also, at the time of writing this article, the Norwegian still has 5 more games ahead.
The record for the number of goals in a 38-match draw was previously held by Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah (33 goals in the 2017/18 season – approx. Dailysport). This result was surpassed by Erling at the end of April in a duel against London’s Arsenal. It took Haaland just 30 games to score 35 times as he missed some time due to injury. This means that the average scorer per match was 1.16 goals. We also need to take into account that he did not always come out in the starting lineup.
More about the record holder
Erling was born in 2000. His father Alf-Inge also played for Manchester City some time. Fans with experience first of all remember the terrible injury inflicted on Haaland Sr. by Roy Keane in retaliation for a similar action in one of the previous matches. Erling began his playing career at the Norwegian Brune, for which he made his debut at the age of 15. A year later, he went on promotion, moving to Molde. Career milestones:
- “Molde” (2017–2018). In his first 50 games in the Norwegian top division, the striker scored 20 times.
- Red Bull Salzburg (2018-2020). Performances in the Champions League drew the attention of the leading clubs in Europe to the Norwegian. During his playing in Austria, Haaland scored 29 goals in 27 matches, won 2 championships and the national cup.
- Borussia Dortmund (2020–2022). For two and a half seasons in Germany, the striker took part in 89 games, scoring 86 times. The only trophy of the club during this period was the national cup.
- Manchester City (since 2022). The first year in England is simply phenomenal. In addition to the aforementioned Premier League record, Erling has an outstanding record in the Champions League with 11 goals in 7 games. Next in line is the Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid. In the national championship, MC is leading for several rounds before the end and is unlikely to miss the title.
Haaland is the top contender for the Golden Boot of the season. Tottenham’s closest competitor, Harry Kane, is a full 10 goals behind and is unlikely to be able to win back this head start in the remaining few matches.
As for Erling’s career in the national team, so far it is not so bright. It’s not about performance (21 goals in 23 games – approx. Daily Sports), but about the lack of achievements of the national team, which since 2002 has not been able to qualify for the finals of the European Championship or the World Cup.
