Sunday, December 22, 2024

How Haaland reached 100 Manchester City goals

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Erling Haaland is the fourth player to score 100 goals in all competitions for Manchester City in the Premier League era [PA Media]

Erling Haaland reached the latest landmark of his career as he hit his 100th goal for Manchester City in their 2-2 Premier League draw with Arsenal.

The Norway striker was making his 105th appearance – and his 100th start – in just over two years at the club when he reached the century at Etihad Stadium.

The goal came as he raced on to Savinho’s through ball before slotting home in the ninth minute.

Haaland’s goals have come at an average of one every 85 minutes.

He seems more prolific than ever this season – his 10 goals in the first five games of a top-flight season is the best start since Aston Villa’s Pongo Waring in 1930.

It takes Haaland’s career tally to 235 club goals – for Molde, Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and City – and 32 goals for Norway. He is only 24.

It also means he equals Cristiano Ronaldo’s record at Real Madrid of fewest games needed to reach 100 goals for a team from Europe’s top five leagues.

So how has Haaland reached this landmark, what records does he already have – and what could he go on to achieve?

How has Haaland reached the 100 goals?

Haaland’s record is scarcely believable when you consider he only joined City in 2022 in a £51m move from Borussia Dortmund, where he hit 86 goals in 89 games.

He has hit four or more goals against 11 different teams in a City kit. Wolves are his favourite opponents, with eight goals in four games against the Black Country side.

Haaland has scored seven in five against West Ham and six against Manchester United, RB Leipzig and – in just two meetings – Luton.

Including goals for Dortmund, Haaland has scored 12 goals in eight matches against Leipzig.

He has scored 73 Premier League goals for City, 18 in the Champions League, eight in the FA Cup and one in the Carabao Cup.

Some 73 have come with his left foot, 14 with his right, 12 with his head and one that went in via his backside, against Chelsea.

He has scored 18 of his 20 penalties – and struck six from outside the box.

How does Haaland’s goalscoring compare with modern greats?

Haaland is 24 years and 63 days old – and this is his 235th goal in 271 games for top-flight teams.

By this age, Cristiano Ronaldo had scored 117 goals in 313 games for Sporting and Manchester United.

Lionel Messi had hit 184 goals in 274 games for Barcelona.

Haaland is the fourth player to score 100 goals under Pep Guardiola after Messi (211), Sergio Aguero (124) and Raheem Sterling (120).

What records does Haaland already have?

Haaland already has the record for most Premier League goals in a season – the 36 he managed in 2022-23.

He has reached various quickest player to ‘x’ amount of goals landmarks in the Premier League on his way to his current 73-goal tally.

The last big one saw him reach 50 Premier League goals in 48 games, 17 matches fewer than Andy Cole took.

He has the best minutes-per-goal record in Premier League history, for players to score at least five goals – one every 79 minutes.

As well as a host of hat-trick landmarks, the Norwegian’s 10 goals in his opening five Premier League games this season is also a record.

Haaland has three spots in the top 10 of that list – with nine in five in 2022-23 and ‘just’ the seven last season.

He also has several similar Champions League records. He reached 40 goals in 35 games, 10 fewer than Ruud van Nistelrooy, the previous record holder.

What records can Haaland break?

One record that could be on the agenda for Haaland soon is becoming Norway’s all-time top scorer.

He has scored 32 goals – only one behind record scorer Jorgen Juve, who played between 1928 and 1937.

Any other records might have to wait a while.

Sergio Aguero is Manchester City’s record goalscorer on 260 goals – a record Haaland would break in his sixth season at the club, based on his scoring rate, if he stays that long.

The Premier League’s all-time top scorer is Alan Shearer, also on 260 goals.

Haaland has won the Golden Boot in both his seasons in England, with 36 and 27 goals, and has those 10 goals in five Premier League games this campaign.

Based on that form – and his current rate of playing 88% of City’s league games – he would break Shearer’s record in 2029-30 if he stays.

Including top-flight football before 1992, the record is Jimmy Greaves’ 357. So Haaland would need another few years to beat that – and would probably need to spend the rest of his career in England to do so.

He is unlikely to ever break Dixie Dean’s record of 60 goals in a top-flight season (for Everton in 1927-28)… unless he keeps this season’s goalscoring rate up.

The next big Premier League landmark will be quickest to 100 goals, and he has 52 games to score 27 goals and beat Shearer’s record.

The Champions League goalscoring record is Cristiano Ronaldo’s 140 goals. Haaland is already on 41 goals in 39 Champions League games across five seasons.

It would take him about 12 years to beat that record, based on just over eight goals a season.

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