Soccer analysis: Erling Haaland hits 100: The race to catch Alan Shearer
Erling Haaland stole the headlines after Manchester City saw off Fulham in a frantic fixture on Tuesday, December 2.
The Norwegian forward notched his 100th Premier League goal, reaching the milestone quicker than anyone before him.
Here, Sports News Blitz’s Tom Gardiner lauds Haaland’s sensational milestone.
Surprisingly, this was Haaland’s only goal of the match, despite him rattling the post either side of half-time.
He did, however, register two assists - a defence-splitting through ball to Tijjani Reijnders and a fortunate backheel that fell perfectly for Phil Foden.
After taking a 5-1 lead in the second half, City allowed Fulham to grow in confidence, with the home side rallying late on to bring the score back to 5-4.
Key defensive interventions ensured the away side left London with all three points, albeit in dramatic fashion.
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An unrivaled milestone for a Premier League striker
The all-time top scorer in the English top flight, Alan Shearer, took 124 games to reach the century and held that record firmly, until City’s number nine arrived.
Since then, the Norway international has surpassed Shearer’s pace, needing just 111 games to hit 100 Premier League goals.
Here’s a graph to visualise Haaland’s dominance in the top flight since his arrival, setting him against other prolific strikers to reach the fabled century:
Pitted against the Premier League’s elite marksmen, Haaland comes out on top. Should he remain in the division long-term, he could reach heights never seen before in English football.
Shearer scored 260 Premier League goals - a feat Haaland could realistically achieve, still only 25 years old.
This graph uses his current goals-per-game ratio to project how many matches it would take him to reach Shearer’s tally:
The ultimate record to be broken
With Haaland signing a record-breaking nine-and-a-half-year contract back in January, it appears likely he will continue wearing sky blue for years to come.
That means Shearer’s record of 260 Premier League goals could be under serious threat if the big Norwegian maintains his ferocious scoring rate.
That’s why they pay him the big bucks.
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