Erling Haaland has broken the Premier League’s all-time goal record by scoring his 35th goal of the season in a 3-0 victory over West Ham. He surpassed the shared record previously held by Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer of 34 goals, which was achieved almost 30 years ago in 42-game seasons when the league consisted of 22 teams. Haaland, who is 22 years old, still has five league games remaining to increase his tally. His current goal ratio of 1.26 per 90 minutes suggests that he could finish the campaign with close to 41 goals.
Haaland has scored more goals than five Premier League teams: Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Wolves, Everton, and Southampton. He has also registered four hat-tricks and is just one shy of equalling Harry Kane’s record of five in a single Premier League campaign. In all competitions, Haaland has scored 51 goals, surpassing records set by Vic Watson and Pongo Waring more than 90 years ago. Dixie Dean’s all-time record of 63 goals from the 1927/28 season is the only record that now stands in his way.
Haaland’s accomplishments are even more impressive considering that Golden Boot tallies have been on the decline in recent years. Mohamed Salah was the last player to break the 30-goal threshold back in the 2017/18 season when he scored 32 goals, setting a new record for a 38-game season.
Haaland has played only 74% of available minutes across all competitions this season but is averaging 1.26 goals per 90 minutes in the Premier League, which is significantly higher than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues who has played more than 612 minutes. He has also exceeded his expected-goal (xG) returns considerably, netting nine more goals than the 26 expected from chances presented to him.
Haaland’s physical attributes, including his height, power, and speed, combined with his acrobatic and aerial ability, make him almost unstoppable when in full flow. He has scored almost all of his goals from the central third of the opposition box, between the goal line and penalty spot.
Haaland’s current goal-rate sets him on course to finish the season with 41 league goals, breaking the current record, but there is a growing sense that he will break even more records before the season ends
