Erling Haaland received a guard of honor from his adoring Manchester City teammates after breaking the Premier League’s single-season goalscoring record against West Ham with his 35th goal in a remarkable campaign
- Erling Haaland has broken the record for most goals scored in a Premier League season
- The Norwegian passed the season records of 42 games set by Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer
- Last week broke the record for most goals in a 38-game season against Arsenal
Erling Haaland broke the record for most goals scored in a Premier League season with his 35th goal of a remarkable campaign on Wednesday night.
The Norwegian ran on to make it 2-0 against West Ham with a brutal finish off Lukasz Fabianski, ensuring he passed Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer in the single-season scoring effort.
Before leaving the field at the end of the match, Haaland received a standing ovation from the entire Etihad crowd as his teammates lined up to give him a guard of honour.
The scenes further showcased Haaland’s popularity among his teammates, with the Norwegian reportedly a humble and crucial member of Pep Guardiola’s imperious squad.
His teammates hit him on the back of the head and back as he drove off with a huge grin on his face. When he reached the end, you could see him rubbing his back as if to wean away the pain, though the grin remained.
Erling Haaland was given a guard of honor after breaking the Premier League’s single-season goalscoring record
The Norwegian ran through a tunnel of his adoring teammates as supporters stayed behind to cheer his exploits
Haaland had made it 2-0 for City after running clear from a costly mistake by West Ham
It marks another achievement in a remarkable first campaign in England for Haaland, who has scored half a century of goals in all competitions for City this season and became the first player to score in England in just under 100 years.
Cole and Shearer, who each scored 34 in the 1993–94 and 1994–95 campaigns respectively, both achieved the feat in 42 matches, further demonstrating the stark nature of Haaland’s performance.
There was an ominous feeling at West Ham from the start of the evening, as Haaland scored his first goal in English football against them in August. Regardless of his terrorizing Ben Johnson and Kurt Zouma that day, few would have backed him to score another 50 goals – and counting.
Speaking to Sky Sports after breaking the record, Haaland said each of his 51 goals this season would earn him three trophies at the end of the season.
However, he insisted that he and his City team-mates were not thinking about the treble, claiming that doing so would make you ‘crazy’ in your head.
His 34th goal of the Premier League season came from a penalty at Fulham at the weekend, with Haaland missing a number of representative chances to break the record on the spot.
City fans, understandably enthralled by their star striker, were delighted that he had achieved this feat at home.
The 22-year-old has been prolific for Pep Guardiola’s side in every way, with a total of 51 goals in all competitions this season.
In addition to his impressive Premier League tally, the Norwegian also has 12 goals in eight appearances in the Champions League, three in three in the FA Cup and one goal in two Carabao Cup appearances.
Perhaps his most impressive performance came during City’s 7-0 demolition of RB Leipzig earlier in their Champions League campaign, where he managed to score five goals.
He became only the second player in the history of the competition, after Lionel Messi, to win the accolade.
Liverpool’s Mo Salah previously held the record of 32 goals scored in the 2017/18 season
Haaland has been productive for Man City in both domestic competitions and Europe this year
The Norwegian striker joined Manchester City from Dortmund in the summer transfer window for £51 million.
He hit the ground running straight away and picked up a brace on his Premier League debut as City cruised to a 2-0 win over West Ham.
He has scored four hat-tricks in that time in City’s wins against Crystal Palace, Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.
In addition to his efficiency in front of goal, the Norway international has also managed to contribute six assists to his City teammates this season.