Football fans have become accustomed to Erling Haaland breaking records, but the attacker has shattered a Premier League milestone that has stood for 30 years in Manchester City’s game against Fulham.
Leading the attacking line for Pep Guardiola’s side once again at Craven Cottage, he almost snatched the opening goal within six minutes when the Norwegian hit the post. But he didn’t have to wait too long to break the starting ball.
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Jeremy Doku cut the ball back to Haaland inside the penalty area. And the 25-year-old was not denied for a second time, when he swept home the Belgian’s pass with a fearsome finish with his left foot.
The goal was a milestone for Haaland as it marked his 100th in the Premier League since joining City in the summer of 2022. However, it also meant that he had broken the record for the fewest number of games needed to reach that milestone.
On Manchester City’s pages, you can see Erling Braut Haaland’s 100 goals in 100 seconds.
Scoring at such an unsettling rate meant that the Norwegian only needed 111 games in the English top flight to reach a century of goals. The previous record holder, Alan Shearer, needed 124 games to score his 100th goal back in December 1995 against Spurs.
The Newcastle striker, who is widely regarded as one of the best strikers the Premier League has seen, was also well ahead of his pursuers. Former Spurs striker Harry Kane was behind the former England international, as he needed 141 games to reach the same milestone.
The fact that Haaland reached 100 goals so quickly in such a short space of time is a testament to how deadly dangerous he has been in front of goal since joining City. Former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, expressed everyone’s thoughts with his reaction to the goal.
“Erling Haaland missed an earlier one where he knows he should have scored,” he said. “He knows he’s going to get another chance. He’s so lethal and he scores all kinds of goals. We’re not going to see a striker like him for a very long time.”
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Haaland didn’t even take time to rest on his laurels in the game, as City continued to put on the pressure in pursuit of more goals. They had to wait another 20 minutes for their second goal, but eventually found their way to the net.
Once again, the Norwegian international was in the center of the goal, but this time he was the goalgiver. The attacker, who received the ball with his back to the goal, overpowered the surrounding Fulham defenders and played the ball through to Tijjani Reijnders, who lobbed it over Bernd Leno to double the score.
Just before half-time, City got their third goal, and it came via Phil Foden’s left foot. Leno tried to box the ball away, but it only got as far as the England international on the edge of the box. City’s 47th player took his time to sit down, before curling a sublime shot past the diving German goalkeeper.
Fulham managed to snatch a goal just before half-time through Emile Smith Rowe, reducing City’s lead to two goals. But Foden was on hand to restore City’s three-goal lead in the second half, giving the Cottagers a mountain to climb.
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The match ended with result 4 – 5.
