The English Premier League is widely regarded by many as the most competitive and physically demanding league in world football. Pundits and fans suggest that the Premier League is particularly challenging to score in compared to other top leagues across Europe. 

However, the arrival of goal-machine Erling Haaland to the Premier League last season has cast some doubts about whether this perception holds. 

The Norwegian centre-forward has taken the Premier League by storm since joining Manchester City, tallying an impressive 63 goals in 65 league appearances for the Citizens.

Haaland burst onto the scene during his time on the books of RB Salzburg, where his goal-scoring exploits attracted the attention of top clubs across Europe. 

Haaland netted 29 goals in Salzburg colours and created another 7 in 27 appearances for the club. He swapped the Austrian club for Borussia Dortmund in the 2019 winter transfer window, going on to tally a whopping 86 goals and 23 assists in 89 appearances for the German side. In 2022, Haaland signed for Manchester City.

Debut Season Goal-Scoring Spree

On his Premier League debut against West Ham United on the 7th of August 2022, the Norwegian found the back of the net twice, securing the only goal in a 2-0 victory at the London Stadium. Just three weeks later, on the 27th of August, he scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a 4-2 triumph over Crystal Palace.

Remarkably, Haaland followed his Palace hat-trick up with another, this time a perfect one as City subjected newly promoted Nottingham Forest to a 6-0 mauling on the 31st of August, making him the quickest player in Premier League history to notch two hat-tricks while surpassing the previous record by 14 matches. As a result of his outstanding performances, Haaland was subsequently named the Premier League Player of the Month for August, marking an amazing start to life in the league.

Haaland further engraved his name in Premier League history after becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in three consecutive home games during City’s 6-3 derby victory against local rivals Manchester United on the 2nd of October. Additionally, the Man City hitman set a new record as the quickest player in Premier League history to score three hat-tricks, a feat he accomplished in just eight league matches, surpassing the previous record of 48 matches set by Michael Owen in 1998.

Continuing his impressive run, Haaland’s brace in Manchester City’s 3-1 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road on the 28th of December saw him tally 20 goals in just 14 matches, making him the fastest player in history to reach 20 Premier League goals, surpassing the previous record set by Sunderland’s Kevin Philips by seven games.

Haaland was certainly enjoying life in the Premier League and his scoring spree showed no signs of slowing down as he notched his fourth hat-trick of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers on the 22nd of January 2023. Having scored 25 goals in just 19 Premier League appearances, the Norwegian surpassed the top scorers for the previous season, Mohamed Salah and Don Heung-min who both managed 23 league goals throughout the entire campaign.

Haaland scored a goal and created another two as City secured a 4-1 triumph over league leaders Arsenal on the 26th of April, narrowing the gap at the top of the standings to just two points, with Man City having two games in hand. He scored his 50th goal of the season in all competitions in a Premier League match against Fulham on the 30th of April, going on to win a second Premier League Player of the Month award after tallying six goals and two assists in April.

On the 3rd of May in City’s reverse fixture against West Ham United, the Norwegian bagged his 35th league goal of the season, surpassing the joint record held by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole for the most goals scored in a single Premier League season.

Haaland’s debut season display saw him secure the Premier League Golden Boot, finishing as the league’s top scorer while he also claimed the European Golden Shoe, awarded to the top domestic scorer in Europe. With an astonishing 36 goals in 35 appearances, he set the record for the highest number of goals scored in a Premier League season.

The Present Campaign

Erling Haaland kicked off the 2023/34 Premier League season with a brace in a 3-0 victory away at newly promoted side Burnley on the 11th of August 2023. The 23-year-old centre-forward went on to receive the prestigious PFA Players’ Player of the Year award on the 29th of August, an honour preceded by his inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year for the Premier League.

Following a remarkable performance against Fulham on the 2nd of September, where he registered his seventh club hat-trick along with an assist, Haaland achieved another significant milestone as he became the quickest player in Premier League history to reach 50 goal involvements, a feat he achieved in just 39 appearances, surpassing Andy Cole’s previous record by four matches.

The Norwegian was honoured with the Gerd Müller Trophy at the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony, recognizing him as the player with the most goals scored for club and country in a single season on the 30th of October after only just scoring a brace and providing an assist in City’s resounding 3-0 defeat of local rivals Manchester United the day before.

On the 25th of November, Haaland broke yet another record by becoming the fastest player to score 50 Premier League goals in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool. He achieved this milestone in just 48 appearances, comfortably surpassing Andy Cole’s previous record of 65 matches. His goal-scoring feat had a key impact in seeing the demand for Man City tickets increase.

Haaland suffered a bone stress injury in his foot, which sidelined him for nearly two months. Upon his return from injury at the end of January, it took some time for the striker to get on the score sheet as his first goal since his return came against Brentford at the end of February. A goal which saw him join Harry Kane as one of the only players to have scored against every Premier League team they had faced.

The Manchester City forward looked to be back to his best as he starred in a 5-1 thrashing of Wolves on the 4th of May, getting his first regular season hat-trick of the year and his third hat-trick in all competitions.