It only took 45 minutes for Erling Haaland to announce his return from injury with a goal. The Norwegian had missed last weekend’s game with Liverpool due to injury and looked sharp against relegation threatened, Southampton. He got a second goal in the second half taking his goal tally this season in the league to 30.
Running out of words for @ErlingHaaland 🤯 pic.twitter.com/evnd267QBc
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 8, 2023
Haaland’s debut season has seen him suffer a few injuries along the way but he has still managed a record-breaking goalscoring return that has equalled a 24-year-old record. The last player and only to score 30 Premier League goals in his debut season was Sunderland’s, Kelvin Philips. At this current rate, that record will definitely be shattered with 9 games to go in the season.
Many pundits have praised his goalscoring feats with Shaun Wright-Phillips saying after the Southampton game that Haaland gives Manchester City two different ways to break down opponents. The Cityzens have been able to stroke the ball around in games and just pick out Haaland as was seen in the game with Southampton.
“All of his goals have mainly been in the box or in between the penalty spot and the goal line which was a crucial part to what City were missing last season,” said Shaun. “If you go back to the game against Crystal Palace last year, where City lost having had a man sent off, they still created a lot of chances that day. If you look at the game this season, they had the same number of chances but ended up winning 4-2.
“That shows you what Haaland has been bought for and what he’s capable of in this team. I still think they haven’t clicked fully yet with him in the side, it’s scary to think how good he, and City, can really be.”
One other record that is in danger of being thrashed is Mo Salah’s record for the most goals in a 38-match campaign. The Egyptian star scored 32 in a record-breaking 2017/18 campaign but those exploits may now be overshadowed by Haaland’s unbelievable exploits.
With 9 games to go, it is safe to say that new records will be written and the name that will go into the record books is the man signed from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, Erling Braut Haaland.
