Erling Haaland has broken the Premier League‘s single-season scoring record after the Manchester City striker netted his 35th goal of an incredible campaign against West Ham on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old scored in a win over Fulham on Sunday to equal the previous best mark of 34 held jointly by Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer and his goal in the 70th minute against West Ham saw Haaland eclipse the mark with five games left to play in the current campaign.
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Haaland scored his record goal in typical classy fashion, running on to Jack Grealish’s ball in behind the West Ham defence and chipping keeper Lukasz Fabianski to double City’s lead as they pursue a fifth Premier League title in six years.
Cole’s 34-goal season came with Newcastle United in the second year of the Premier League, in 1993-94, with Shearer equalling it the following season to fire Blackburn Rovers to the title.
Both Cole and Shearer set the mark in a 42-game season. Haaland, whose 35 goals have come in just 31 league appearances, had already surpassed the previous record for a 38-game Premier League season set when Mohamed Salah scored 32 for Liverpool in 2017-18.
Records have fallen on a near-weekly basis for Haaland in a dream first season at the Etihad Stadium since his transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer.
The Norway star has already eclipsed the previous record for most goals scored in all competitions by a Premier League player. His 52 goals have far exceeded the 44 scored by Ruud van Nistelrooy for Manchester United in 2002-03 and Salah in 2017-18.
Haaland still has some way to go to surpass the all-time record for the most goals scored in England’s top division, however. The legendary Dixie Dean struck 60 goals for Everton in 1927-28.