‘Ballon d’Or toh phir bhi Messi le jayega’ – Fans react as Erling Haaland smashes Premier League goal-scoring record

Erling Haaland broke the long-standing Premier League goal-scoring record held jointly by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole since the 1994–95 season when he scored his 35th, ending a lengthy wait. The fact that Shearer and Cole accomplished this in a 42-game Premier League season with 22 clubs, whereas Haaland only had 38 matches available to him yet still won the award with games to spare, makes the feat all the more remarkable.

The Norwegian giant is currently perched alone atop a mountain that may be inaccessible for a considerable amount of time. With his goal against West Ham United on Thursday, Haaland formally claimed the record after tying it against Fulham on Sunday, his 30th league game.

Erling Haaland broke the record in 31 Premier League appearances for Manchester City

When Mohamed Salah of Liverpool went ballistic and scored 32 goals in his first season with the Reds, the Premier League last witnessed the destruction of this magnitude. Haaland, in contrast, needed 29 games to break that record with his goal in a 4-1 Manchester City victory over Arsenal on April 27.

Haaland has now broken the record with four hat tricks, compared to Salah’s one against Watford during the 2017–18 campaign. Regarding hat tricks in a season, the lanky lad from Bryne, a charming tiny hamlet in Western Norway, comes in second to Shearer, who notched five in 1995–96. Haaland is a serious contender to match that accomplishment, with a few games still to play.

There were doubts about Haaland’s ability to be a worthy replacement for Sergio Aguero when he initially arrived in England at the start of this season, as well as whether he could still display the goal-scoring skills that made him so deadly for RB Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund. It is fairly safe to conclude that he has not only filled the huge void Aguero left but may have outperformed him in some areas. Haaland, who adapted to the Premier League like a duck to water, was the elusive missing piece that Pep Guardiola and Manchester City had been seeking for the past two seasons.

Here’s how fans reacted:

Already surpassed Ronaldo’s EPL legacy

— Bilnation (@Bilaldinho10_) May 3, 2023

https://twitter.com/faturrahmandoni/status/1653860013079920640

35 in lesser game than any player!! Absolutely sensational!!!

— DE TRUTH (@donpanacio) May 3, 2023

It's happening guys pic.twitter.com/AQlNmH17Ke

— W¡LL¥ ☆ (@OkangoWhizzer) May 3, 2023

https://twitter.com/fcb_joni/status/1653860004665995264

He's inevitable. Haaland is inevitable !!! pic.twitter.com/MgOrHT2Odt

— ²⁶ (@RxMahrezSZN) May 3, 2023

https://twitter.com/Olurops/status/1653861476883464194

https://twitter.com/maksm127/status/1653860109989101569