Manchester City knew Erling Haaland was good… but nine goals in his opening five games has blown the league apart.
Those comments of only being able to do it in a farmer's league have certainly quietened down. The super Scandi striker has been clinical for City, taking minimal touches but converting everything that falls at his feet – and he's already the early favourite for the Golden Boot.
Well, of course he is. But he could well end up breaking plenty of records along the way…
1. Most goals in a 38-game season
The current holder: Mohamed Salah (32)
Mohamed Salah broke a Liverpool record as well as a Premier League record when he struck 32 goals in the league in 2017/18 – one more than Luis Suarez managed in 2013/14. We thought that record would stand for a little bit longer, didn't we?
But with nine goals already, Haaland is already almost a third of the way to that target. If anyone's going to get to that number, it's the Norwegian – and with City controlling games completely and dominating to a level that that Liverpool team never did possession-wise, who's to say that he can't surpass it?
2. Best goals to minutes ratio
The current holder: Sergio Aguero (108 mins per goal)
Sergio Aguero managed just over a goal a game. A phenomenal record in the Premier League, especially considering that he managed 184 strikes at the Etihad. Haaland has a goal every 43 minutes in the league so far. It's a joke, isn't it?
He's going to slow down, of course. He won't be scoring an average a goal a half (we assume). But if he does, it'll take him just 87 matches to break Manchester City's all-time scoring record. It took Aguero six years but if Haaland plays 45 games a season, it would take him two years.
Naturally, that's not going to happen. But still, the rate that he's scoring, Haaland might end up with a goal every 90 minutes or fewer – which would be unprecedented in English football.
3. The most hat-tricks in the Premier League
The current holder across a season: Alan Shearer (five)
The current holder in Premier League history: Sergio Agero (12)
He's been in England for just over a month and he's already just the seventh player to have scored consecutive hat-tricks in Premier League. With Aston Villa today, who's to say he won't get a third in a row?
There are other records worth chasing, too. Sergio Aguero has 12 in the Premier League – more than any other player. But looking at the short-term, Alan Shearer managed five hat-tricks in the 1995/96 seasons, during Blackburn Rovers' difficult second season following their title win.
Haaland will have that in his sights. Only five players have scored five goals in a game, while six hat-tricks have been achieved in under 10 minutes. No one has ever scored six goals in a single game, either.
4. The only Premier League Golden Boot winner with more goals than games
The current holder: -
In 2017, Tottenham came second behind Chelsea and Harry Kane lifted the Golden Boot, in a class of his own as Premier League strikers go. He scored 29 goals across that season: nine players have scored more goals in a season – but no one's done it in fewer matches.
Kane only played 30 games that season. His goals to matches ratio was 0.97 – and as mentioned, Haaland, is already averaging better than a goal a game. No one has ever won the Golden Boot with more goals than games but the City striker could be the first.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Dion Dublin and Michael Owen all won a Golden Boot with a goal every other game in the 90s. Oh, how the game has changed…
5. The all-time Premier League goalscoring record
The current holder: Alan Shearer (260)
Nine down, 251 to go.
At Haaland's current rate, he'll break Shearer's long-standing record by 2025, probably breaking Harry Kane's heart in the process, given that he's been chasing it for years. But seriously, consider too that Haaland is just 22 years old. He could well spend 10 years at the top – and if City keep him for that long, there's no reason he couldn't be pushing Shearer.
26 goals a season for a decade will be enough to equal Shearer. Get your bets in…
