When Manchester City hosts rival Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, Erling Braut Haaland will be attempting to smash yet another Premier League record.
With the Citizens, the 22-year-old has had an impressive start, hitting 14 goals in just 11 games across all competitions. The Norwegian striker has only missed the net once in league play this season, and that was in the 4-0 victory over Bournemouth.
Eleven of those goals have come in only seven Premier League games. Haaland scored back-to-back hat-tricks at home against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest to become just the sixth player in Premier League history to bring the match ball home in consecutive games.
Haaland would become the first player in Premier League history to record three straight hat-tricks at home in the tournament if he scores three goals in the Manchester derby.
The 6’5″ attacker would also surpass Sergio Aguero, a City legend, by becoming the first player to record as many as three home hat tricks in a single season.
Aguero has scored more hat-tricks in the history of the tournament than any other player, tallying 12 goals throughout his wildly successful 10-year stint at the Etihad. Alan Shearer presently holds the record for the most hat-tricks in a single Premier League season with five.
Pep Guardiola, Haaland’s manager, has cautioned the rest of the league that the Norwegian is just going to become better in front of goal as Haaland is on track to shatter a number of goalscoring records.
Haaland on the verge of breaking another Premier League record
“He’s an exceptional striker, I’ve said it many times. But at the age he is, and I think he has ambition, he wants to be better, and I think he will be better,”
the Spaniard told reporters via Sky Sports News.
“He’s a perfect person to manage. He’s a nice guy and this is the most important thing.”
Haaland recently expressed his “astonishment” at his own goal-scoring prowess, stating to Viaplay Football:
“I’m not surprised I’m scoring goals [at Man City]. But the fact that I’ve scored 14 goals for Man City in the beginning of the season, and we’re not in October yet – I didn’t expect that.”
The best strike rate in the top five leagues in Europe is now held by City’s No. 9, who scores 1.86 goals per game. If he maintains this rate and plays every minute of every match in the Premier League and Champions League he will end the season with an incredible 113 goals in all competition.
Haaland, who has contributed to more than 50% of City’s goals in the Premier League this season, has to score 22 goals in his final 31 league games to surpass Mohamed Salah’s previous mark for the Golden Boot, which stands at 32 goals in a season with 38 games.
Guardiola has chosen the Norwegian international, who scored in the loss to Slovenia last week, to start in every game thus far this season in all competitions, and he is anticipated to keep his starting position up front for Sunday’s Manchester derby.
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