He was scoring in bursts during the autumn, but after netting his 99th Premier League goal, Erling Braut Haaland seemed weighed down by the pressure of reaching that landmark 100th goal in the world’s top league.
Since November 9th, he hadn’t found the net in England, and Tuesday’s match against Fulham looked like the perfect opportunity to end his drought: against The Cottagers, he averages a goal per game over six encounters.
Yet, when he hit the post in a golden chance after just five minutes, and the ball rolled along the goal line, the “curse of the hundredth goal” felt more real than ever.
But he broke through in the 17th minute. With his father watching, the Norwegian latched onto a superb ball from Jeremy Doku on the left and nearly tore the net with the power of his strike.
Today’s goal means the Norwegian striker has become the fastest player in Premier League history to reach 100 goals. In doing so, he dethroned Alan Shearer, who held the record for 30 years.
Haaland tried to break the Englishman’s record at his own ground in Newcastle, but none of his attempts found the net there. This time, he succeeded.
The 25-year-old needed just 111 Premier League matches to reach a hundred goals – 13 fewer than Shearer. Other big names are far behind, such as Harry Kane (141), Sergio Aguero (147), Thierry Henry (160) and Mohamed Salah (162).
Haaland’s hundredth Premier League goal wasn’t his only achievement today. This season, he’s already scored 15 league goals and 20 in all club competitions.
What’s more, in November alone, he netted nine times for City and Norway, despite playing just eight matches.