Haaland’s Extended Premier League Dominance
It has been four months since Erling Haaland presented himself to the world wearing the Manchester City shirt in the Community Shield. His staging, contrary to clearing up the doubts that an investment for a Norwegian player might have caused, has spread uncertainty among the citizen fans.
Anyway, he wouldn’t have been the first “nine” that failed to adapt to the demands of Guardiola’s scheme. Samuel Eto’o, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Mario Mandzukic are all strikers who didn’t come together with the Catalan coach on the bench. Still, not even the most demanding Premier League predictions today could have foreseen Haaland’s success in England.
Guardiola Still Gets Consistent Wins
The cyborg, as some have referred to Haaland, is far from being intimidated and has adopted the responsibility as he knows best, which is consistently breaking down rival defensive lines. Along the way, Haaland has finished with one record after another with every match he plays.
Guardiola seems to have finally found in the Norwegian a way to add victories without the need for consistent excellence in all lines of the field. The severity with which Haaland punishes the rival area is almost inhuman and quite far from the reality of top European players. Therefore, simplifying one task after another for the rest of the team has become his primary goal.
Since Guardiola took over at Etihad Stadium, no citizen player has scored more than 21 goals in an entire Premier League season. However, the Norwegian scored 25 goals in just 20 games.
The only player close to the Norwegian’s figures this season is Phil Foden, with seven goals. By the way, Foden is Haaland’s partner in crime in Manchester.
Therefore, it is not an understatement to say that Haaland’s astronomical starts are worthy of a lot of praise, given that they have also occurred in the most challenging season in the Premier League of the Guardiola era.
Haaland Never Holds Back
Haaland has already left behind many citizen players. His closest targets are Eto’o and Lewandowski. The Cameroonian and the Pole scored 30 goals each under Pep Guardiola’s lead. The cyborg is close to surpassing these two records. It would be strange if, in the remaining 17 matches that make up what is left of the season, Haaland only scored five goals.
There is no question the Norwegian is more than just a safe bet, as all of Haaland’s 25 goals have come from only 75 shots on target. This implies that the young star has scored a goal for every three shots he takes.
In any case, the difficulty increases when another name appears in the equation. That name is Leo Messi. The Argentine soccer player scored 50 goals in the 2011/12 season, 46 in the 2012/13 season, 34 in the 2010/11 season, and 31 in the 2009/10 season.
If Haaland continues with the current trend, he could climb up to 45 goals in the Premier League this season. But, of course, this is leaving all circumstances beyond the control of the footballer aside, such as injuries or minutes played.
Suppose the Norwegian manages to score more than 50 goals. In that case, everyone will forget the record for top scorer in a season with Pep Guardiola, with Haaland making world football history. No player has ever scored that many goals in a single season of league competition. That is especially true when it comes to the Premier League.
To Guardiola, there is no question that he will surpass the mark soon. Regarding rival teams, only a few have resisted Haaland in England. Only Newcastle, Brantford, Chelsea, Leicester, Bournemouth, and Arsenal have not become Haaland’s victims.
For Guardiola, it’s not just about this season. Pep commented that everyone should pay close attention to what Haaland will be able to do in the next several years. To Pep, fans might just be able to admire history in the making for a future world-class football star.
