Premier League is arguably the most competitive domestic league in the world. Manchester City talisman Erling Haaland however, is making goalscoring look like a child’s play in the toughest league. A very realistic question arises in the context of the Norwegian’s goalscoring. Will he be able to score the most number of goals in a single Premier League season ever?
Haaland created chaos as soon as he arrived in the blue part of Manchester. A well-oiled Pep Guardiola’s machine has brought the best out of the 22-year-old Norwegian beast. He made a name for himself during his RB Salzburg days.
Erling had a very good goalscoring record at the Austrian club. His performances on Champions League nights caught the eye of the fans and the big European clubs. The young Norwegian really broke into the scene with his goals against a world-class Liverpool side in the Champions League. Later on, his $25 million move to Borussia Dortmund, snubbing the likes of Manchester United, made him a different beast.
Haaland left the Yellow Wall of Germany in 2022 with 62 goals in his bag in just 67 matches in a $63 million transfer. Everyone expected him to score but he ran an absolute carnage. Erling’s overpowering run beyond the defense, his strength to bully any defender, and his utterly unconventional ways to throw his body on the end of crosses, made him a menace.
.@ErlingHaaland‘s 32nd goal of the season! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6IUnUSBYm9
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 16, 2023
Yesterday, his 82nd-minute goal against Arsenal was extremely crucial in their pursuit of defending their title. Manchester City went to the top of the Premier League for the first time over Arsenal this season.
Which player’s goalscoring record does Erling Haaland need to beat?
We have heard the term ‘scoring goals for fun’ here and there a bit over time. Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have defied that term during their peak rivalry in Spain. This is the first time we are seeing someone defy this in the Premier League.
With the goal Haaland scored yesterday, he reached an astonishing 26 goals in just 22 Premier League matches. Very realistically now, we can see him actually becoming the most goalscoring player of one season. But who is currently at the top? And how many goals does Haaland need to reach the top?
If there was a ball and a goal, nothing could stop Alan Shearer
The ultimate centre-forward, @alanshearer scored with pace, power and incredible technique, netting a record 260 Premier League goals in his playing career
He is the first 2021 Inductee to the #PLHallOfFame pic.twitter.com/ZcQIvINXa6
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 26, 2021
The all-time top scorer of the League, Alan Shearer sits at the joint top of the list of most goals scored by a player in a season. In the 1994-95 Premier League season, Shearer scored 34 goals in 42 matches. The joint top scorer with Shearer is Andrew Cole, better known as Andy Cole. He scored the same number of goals, a season before in the 1993-94 Premier League season.
Enjoy one of the best of Andy Cole’s 187 #PL goals 👏#GoalOfTheDay // @NUFC pic.twitter.com/UBvGH6Q0UI
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 11, 2021
So, Erling Haaland needs 8 goals with 16 league matches remaining. Considering his scoring rate this season, it should be rather easy for the City man to break the record and take it to an untouchable level as well.