Manchester: Erling Haaland’s late goal in Manchester City’s 4-1 victory over Arsenal took him to 33 goals in the Premier League and extended his lead in the race for the Golden Boot.
With a goal in Wednesday’s game the Norwegian surpassed Mohamed Salah’s 38-game record, the Egyptian hit 32 in 2017/18.
Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer currently share the record across the entire Premier League era, scoring 34 in 1993/94 and 1994/95 respectively when the season comprised 42 matches.
With seven league games remaining, Haaland requires just two more goals to have the record outright.
Haaland’s form throughout his first campaign has been pivotal to the fortunes of Pep Guardiola’s side during the hunt for a fifth Premier League title in six seasons and third in a row.
He began the season with 18 goals in his first 13 Premier League appearances, including hat-tricks against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.
Since domestic football’s return following the World Cup, Haaland has continued to impress, scoring his fourth Premier League hat-trick against Wolves in January.
He is currently on a run of eight goals in his last eight league appearances.
In total, Haaland has now scored a club record 49 times this season, the most by any player at a Premier League club across all competitions, beating the 44 scored by Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2002/03 and Salah in 2017/18.
He’s also the leading scorer in this year’s UEFA Champions League having hit 11 goals in seven appearances.
IANS
