Manchester City’s star striker Erling Haaland broke the record for the fastest player to 100 Premier League goals on Tuesday night. We look back at the Norwegian’s impressive century.
When Erling Haaland raced through to score on his Premier League debut for Manchester City at West Ham United in August 2022, you almost certainly heard a commentator stating that it was likely to be the first of many.
And indeed, it was.
Haaland has barely stopped scoring since, and on Tuesday, he reached the landmark figure of 100 Premier League goals with the opener in City’s dramatic 5-4 victory at Fulham.
Not only that, he did so in fewer games than any player in the competition’s history, obliterating the previous record held by Alan Shearer by 13 games. Shearer managed it in 124 matches, whereas Haaland only took 111. Having signed a deal with Man City until 2034, he will now surely have his eyes on Shearer’s overall Premier League goals record of 260.
Erling Haaland - Fastest to 100 Premier League goals
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet, though. The former Borussia Dortmund striker’s century deserves analysis, so that’s just what we’ll provide now.
The Numbers Behind Haaland’s Hundred
In total, Erling Haaland’s 100 goals came from 408 shots (including blocked shots) and an expected goals total (xG) of 93.5.
Erling Haaland 100 PL goal xG map
His emphatic first-time finish against Fulham was his 71st Premier League goal with his trusty left foot. Just 11 of Haaland’s strikes have been with his right foot, while 17 have come via headers.
You might be saying: “But Opta Analyst, those numbers only add up to 99,” and you would be right to do so. One of Haaland’s efforts came under ‘other body part’, with his goal in another high-scoring game, a 4-4 draw at Chelsea in November 2023, being bundled in from close range with… well, it’s difficult to tell even with replays, but probably his buttocks were the culprit.
Erling Haaland 100 PL goal shot map
Anyone who has watched even a little bit of Haaland will know that he’s predominantly a penalty-box striker, with 94 of his goals coming from inside the opponent’s area. Just six have been from outside the box.
When you play in a team that score as often as City, you can be accused of being a stat-padder when it comes to goals, but as well as the fact that putting a game to bed by extending a lead can be just as important, 30 of Haaland’s goals have been match-winning ones.
He prefers to play at the Etihad Stadium, but Haaland does more than his fair share of scoring on the road as well. In total, 57 of his goals have been scored on home soil, with the other 43 coming in away games.
The 25-year-old has a remarkable eight Premier League hat-tricks to his name already; only Sergio Agüero (12 in 275 games), Shearer (11 in 441 games) and Robbie Fowler (9 in 379 games) have more in the competition’s history.
Seventeen of his goals have come from the penalty spot, and after Tuesday’s win at Fulham, he is averaging a goal every 93 minutes in the Premier League.
His most punished opponent has been Wolverhampton Wanderers, scoring 10 goals in just six games against the team currently rock bottom of the Premier League. Those goals have come from just 21 shots and 5.7 xG, so Haaland has been particularly deadly against poor old Wolves.
He has also enjoyed playing against West Ham (9 goals in 6 games), Manchester United (8 goals in 6 games) and Fulham (7 goals in 7 games). His best scoring ratio has been against Ipswich Town, against whom he scored four times in two games last season.
most-goals-v-opponents-premier-league-erling-haaland
Haaland has scored against every single opponent he’s faced in the Premier League, though has only found the net once against each of Newcastle United (6 games), Aston Villa (5 games), Luton Town (1 game) and Sheffield United (1 game).
In the time that Haaland has scored his 100 goals (since the start of 2022-23), only three other players have even scored half that many in the Premier League: Mohamed Salah (70), Alexander Isak (55) and Ollie Watkins (51).
He is a frankly stunning goalscoring machine and doesn’t look like slowing down any time soon. Haaland has 15 Premier League goals already this season in just 14 games, putting him on course to become the first player ever to reach 40 goals in a single campaign in the competition.
In fact, we should probably start writing our article on his 200th Premier League goal now to make sure we’re prepared in time.
Premier League Stats Opta
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