Erling Haaland Now Occupy Premier And Champions League No. 1 Goal Scorer, Superbly
The Newly Signed Man City Fabulous Attacker, Erling Haaland Had So far Occupied the No. 1 Goal Scorer Spot In All The High Leagues.
He is the striker that has been able to obtain numbers of 13 goals in 8 first matches of the Premier League.
However, If Haaland sustains those metrics and reaches finals in all club competitions, the 22-year-old would register 109 goals this term – or 121 if he was never substituted.
Those figures are based on his average goal rate across all competitions since the Premier League started, but Haaland could arguably score even more if he played against lower-tier sides in domestic cups.
Haaland is on course to almost double the all-time Premier League record of 34 goals, achieved during 42-game seasons by Andy Cole (1993/94) and Alan Shearer (1994/95), and would surpass Shearer’s record of 260 Premier League goals in fewer than four seasons.
In fact, Haaland has Dixie Dean’s English top-flight record of 60 goals in his sights – set in 1927/28 and remained unsurmountable for nearly a century.
Haaland scored twice as City cruised to a 5-0 Champions League victory over FC Copenhagen on Wednesday, netting with his first touch of the game and doubling the lead inside the first half – before being hooked off at the break.
The striker also scored his third successive league hat-trick at the Etihad during the 6-3 win over Manchester United at the weekend – moving him seven goals clear of Harry Kane in the Premier League goal chart.
Those numbers produce a staggering league ratio of 1.89 goals per 90 minutes – more potent than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this season to have played in excess of 144 minutes.
The chart below plots goals and expected-goal returns for all Premier League players this season and presents the scale of the striker’s early form – soaring clear in both categories.
Several forwards from opposition teams are inconsistent form, most notably Harry Kane – but Haaland is doubling, and humbling, the England striker’s figures.
Some critics might claim any established forward would convert bags of goals in Pep Guardiola’s side, based on the sheer quantity of clear-cut chances they create.
However, the Norwegian has also nearly doubled his xG returns, netting six goals more than the 7.63 expected from chances presented to him – another league-topping ratio.
Additionally, Haaland has fired a league-high 20 shots on target, which means his current goal haul equates to one goal from every 1.4 shots on target – underlining the clinical finishing to date.
Haaland had registered his only league assist this term in the 4-0 win over Bournemouth with his first touch of the game but teed up two Phil Foden goals in the rout against Manchester United to take his tally to three this term.
However, he averages far fewer touches, dribbles and final-third passes than other forwards – a deficiency City and most clubs would gladly trade for his prolific strike rate.
Haaland clocked merely eight touches against the Cherries and currently averages 13.6 touches per goal – which equates to scoring a goal in seven percent of his overall actions on the ball.
He tracked back less frequently after the Newcastle game, registering merely seven touches in his own half against Nottingham Forest, Wolves, and Villa combined – but dropped deeper frequently against United at the weekend.
In terms of passing, Haaland tends to drift and combine with teammates across the width of the penalty box, with a slightly higher concentration of exchanges down left-of-center areas – while creating his most potent chances from central areas just outside the box.
However, his pass for Foden’s second goal on Sunday was of a similar ilk to team-mate Kevin De Bruyne – bending a perfect pass behind the defensive line for England forward to smash home and make it 4-0 before the break.
