Manchester City and Norway talisman Erling Haaland has become partial to breaking the odd goalscoring record over the years – and, with that, his goal-getting exploits have often thrown up crazy statistics. Pep Guardiola's men recently beat Fulham in a nine-goal thriller and the 25-year-old recorded yet another insane statistic, which sounds vastly unbelievable.
Against Marco Silva's Cottagers, Haaland became the quickest player in Premier League history to reach the 100-goal mark, but his milestone was almost ruined as Fulham (almost!) fought back from being 5-1 down by the 54th minute. Alex Iwobi's goal and Samuel Chukwueze's brace almost completed one of the greatest comebacks in Premier League history.
Alas, the match was all about the Leeds-born marksman and how utterly freakish he has been in front of goal since switching Borussia Dortmund for City in the summer of the summer of 2022 – but the statistic in question wasn't focused on his goalscoring exploits. Instead, what with how well he can outwit defenders, it's about him being caught in an offside position.
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Haaland Crazy Stat From 5-4 Win Over Fulham Perplexes Fans
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According to Squawka, at Craven Cottage on Tuesday evening, Haaland was flagged offside for the first time in an away match for over two years in the Premier League. The 48-cap, 55-goal Norway international has incredibly managed to score an obscene number of strikes in that time... all without being in an offside position. Some would say he's lucky – but that isn't the case here.
Hours of practice, combined with his innate talent, have gone into perfecting the timing of his runs to ensure he is not flagged offside. Thus, the usual outcome is Haaland bearing down on goal and producing some sort of finish – a side-footed effort into the bottom corner, a dink, a curling effort – beyond whoever dares to prevent him scoring. On his new statistic, one wrote:
"That's the craziest stat I've seen for a long time."
As supporters, we've become accustomed to Haaland's robotic – and enviably effortless – nature in front of goal but that hasn't prevented others from being taken aback. Another, taking to X (formerly Twitter), wrote: "Wtf this is an insane record," as a third concluded : "This guy is not normal, bring him to the Spotify Camp Nou."
With Robert Lewandowski unlikely to sign a contract extension in the summer when his contract runs out, according to The Athletic, is there a world where Haaland joins the Spanish behemoths? It would cost them a pretty penny because of the centre-forward's long-term contract in England, but he'll certainly be a player on Hansi Flick's radar.
In fact, Haaland – who is (for good reason!) widely regarded as one of the greatest centre-forwards in world football – has been caught offside the least amount of times (just 18) since 2023. Liverpool's Alexander Isak (42) is his closest challenger while Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe's respective tallies stand at an eye-catching 143 and 111. This data is correct as of November 15, 2025.
Could Haaland Break Alan Shearer's All-Time Goalscoring Record?
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The thing with Haaland is that he will not rest on his laurels. Becoming the fastest player to reach the 100-goal landmark (having done so in 111 matches) is one thing – but up next will be reaching Alan Shearer's tally of 260 goals in the Premier League. Harry Kane, the closest to his compatriot, left to join Bayern Munich in the summer of 2024 and so it could be up to Haaland to break it.
At just 25 years of age and helped by the fact that his contract runs until 2034, Haaland could (theoretically) reach Shearer's tally in four-and-a-half seasons' time per The Athletic's calculations.
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Should he continue firing at the rate that he is (a goal every 91 minutes!), he would usurp Shearer at the summit of the Premier League's all-time goalscoring charts after 294 appearances, which would take him up to spring 2030. For reference: it took Shearer 441 appearances and 14 years to set his outstanding record – but is there a world in which Haaland smashes it? Definitely, yes.