Newcastle United will be trying to stop Erling Haaland this weekend, but even if he does score he will still fall short of one brilliant Andy Cole record.
After back-to-back defeats before the international break, Newcastle United are desperate to get back on track, but facing Man City is never an easy task.
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Pep Guardiola’s side are in imperious form, and Man City have a near-perfect record against Newcastle over the last 20 years. Even with home advantage, it’s safe to say the Magpies are not the favourites here.
Obviously, stopping Erling Haaland will be key to Newcastle having any chance of success, but given the form he’s in, that looks almost impossible.
Erling Haaland celebrates scoring for Manchester City against Manchester United.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Another Erling Haaland record beckons
Eddie Howe branded Man City the best team in the Premier League, and Haaland is at the heart of that dominance.
He’s been so good this year, in fact, that he’s incredibly close to matching a record set by Andy Cole for Newcastle in the 1993/94 season.
If Haaland can score against Newcastle on Saturday, it will be his 20th goal of the season in all competitions, and it would be the third earliest any Premier League player has reached that milestone in a campaign.
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The other players to do so quicker are Cole, who achieved it by 21st November 1993 and Haaland himself, who hit 20 goals by 8th October 2022. So, the Norwegian will miss out on beating Cole’s achievement by just one day, and there’s nothing he can do about it (unless he’s able to move forward the Newcastle fixture by a day or two).
Andy Cole during a Newcastle United photoshoot in 1994.
1994: ANDY COLE OF NEWCASTLE UNITED SOCCER CLUB DURING A CLUB PHOTOCALL BEFORE THE START OF THE 1994/5 SOCCER SEASON. Mandatory Credit: Mike Cooper/ALLSPORT
Andy Cole’s goalscoring record at Newcastle United
In fairness, falling just short of an Andy Cole record is nothing to be ashamed of. The Newcastle United legend was a goalscoring machine just like Haaland, and achieved incredible things in his career.
He scored a phenomenal 68 goals in 84 games for the Magpies, including 34 in 40 league games in that 1993/94 campaign. Cole also won the PFA Young Player of the Year Award that season, not surprisingly.
Player Goals
Alan Shearer 260
Harry Kane 213
Wayne Rooney 208
Mo Salah 190
Andy Cole 187
Top 5 Premier League goalscorers
After scoring another nine goals in 18 games the following season, Cole secured a big move to Manchester United, and the rest is history.
Throughout his career, Cole scored a whopping 264 goals in 599 games. He remains fifth in the list of all-time Premier League with 187.