96% of Erling Haaland’s Premier League goals have come inside the box – including his opener against Liverpool
Another day. Another game. Another goal. Another record for Erling Haaland.
The Manchester City striker became the fastest man to score 50 Premier League goals with the opener in their 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Saturday.
Haaland has not just broken that record, he has shattered it into tiny smithereens, taking just 48 league games to reach the milestone.
The previous record holder, Andrew Cole, needed 65 games to reach that landmark. Alan Shearer – still the all-time record Premier League scorer – took 66 matches.
It is just the latest record broken by Haaland, who has not stopped scoring for City since his switch from Borussia Dortmund last summer.
His 36 goals in the Premier League last season was the most in a single campaign, including the first three years of the competition where teams played 42 matches.
Haaland, who was a doubt to face Liverpool after picking up an injury on international duty with Norway, has now scored 14 goals this season, four ahead of Mohamed Salah.
He is averaging 1.13 goals per game in the league this season, and has attempted a league-high 43 shots – 67% of them on target, 33% finding the net.
Haaland has scored the most goals across the big five European leagues – Premier League, Serie A, Bundesliga, La Liga and Ligue 1 – since the start of last season.
His 50 goals from 48 matches puts him ahead of Harry Kane, who has scored 48 goals in 50 matches for Tottenham and Bayern Munich.
Kylian Mbappe, the only other man to have a goal record in the top European leagues anywhere close to Haaland, has a comparatively measly 43 goals in his past 46 games for Paris St-Germain.
Aside from sheer volume, what stands out from Haaland’s first 50 goals in the Premier League is how unvaried they are. He is terrifyingly predictable – teams know what he will do, stopping him is another matter.
Of those 50 goals, just two have been scored outside the penalty area. Of the 48 inside the box, 33 have been scored with his left foot, six with his right and 10 headers.
Haaland appropriately scored his landmark goal against Liverpool with a left-footed strike from inside the area.
‘We know the quality of Erling’
Haaland is averaging a goal every 80 minutes in the Premier League so far in the 2023-24 season
Liverpool are the 20th Premier League side he has scored against, out of 21 opponents. Only Brentford have managed to keep him out.
At the other end of the scale, happily for Manchester City fans, you will find Manchester United – and Fulham – against who Haaland has scored five Premier League goals.
While Haaland always seems to find a way, Man City as a whole cannot quite say the same this season. They started the weekend top of the table, but this result followed the chaotic 4-4 draw with Chelsea before the international break.
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s equaliser 10 minutes from time ensured City will miss out on becoming the first team since Sunderland in 1894 to win every home league match in a calendar year.
Having won 23 from 23 at Etihad Stadium before Saturday’s game, Pep Guardiola will now be unable to replicate the feat of Tom Watson, manager of that unbeaten Sunderland side who led them to three top-flight titles.
Not that Guardiola was too devastated, expressing his pleasure at his team’s display against Liverpool despite dropping two points.
“That was an excellent performance,” he said in an interview that will air on the BBC’s Match of the Day. “I am really proud that after eight years we are still playing that way. We were really good in all departments and needed to be against an incredible team.”
On Haaland’s goal, which came after he gathered a short pass from Nathan Ake and turned into the box before firing a low shot that Alisson got a hand to, Guardiola said: “It was really good and the action from Ake was perfect. We know the quality of Erling.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was also satisfied with the point, saying on Sky Sports: “It’s a really good moment. It’s a tough place to come – it’s no coincidence that they win that many home games.
“We’re still in a process. If we’d played really well, we could have won – we didn’t. We played OK. I told the boys at half-time, imagine what it would be like if we were playing well.
“We had good moments. I wish we could have had more. For the moment we’re in, we should take the point as a success. I have nothing to complain about there.”
