Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, 25, widely regarded as one of the most dominant scorers in world football, has set a Premier League record as the fastest player to reach 100 goals.Haaland opened the scoring in the 17th minute of the first half during the 14th-round Premier League match of the 2025–26 season against Fulham on the third, converting a left-footed shot from a cross by 23-year-old Belgian winger Jeremy Doku. With that goal, Haaland became the fastest player in league history to reach 100 goals, accomplishing the milestone in just 111 matches. He broke the previous record of 124 matches set by England’s Alan Shearer, 55, who retired as a Premier League legend and still holds the all-time scoring record with 260 goals. South Korea’s Son Heung-min, 33, who spent 10 seasons with Tottenham in the Premier League and now plays for Los Angeles FC, reached 100 goals in his 260th appearance.Haaland, who leads the Premier League this season with 15 goals, contributed one goal and two assists in the match, helping Manchester City secure a thrilling 5–4 victory. Reflecting on his achievement, he said he was “thrilled to hit the milestone” and added, “When I joined Manchester City, I pledged to score 100 Premier League goals for this club, and I am happy to have achieved that goal so quickly.”The Norwegian striker joined Manchester City in 2022 from German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. Since his transfer, his development has surged, and he has continued to rewrite Premier League scoring records. In his debut 2022–23 season, Haaland netted 36 goals, the most ever scored in a single season, earning the Golden Boot. He followed that by becoming the fastest player in league history to reach 50 goals, achieving the mark in just 48 matches.According to the Premier League, no player has scored more than Haaland since his league debut in August 2022. During the same period, Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, 33, has netted 70 goals in 120 matches, placing him second and 30 goals behind Haaland.
Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com
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