Erling Haaland has broken the record for most goals scored in a Premier League campaign with his latest strike for Manchester City against West Ham.
The Norwegian sensation, 22, bagged his 35th goal of a remarkable season when he chipped the ball over Lukasz Fabianski for City’s second of the game.
And that was enough to move him above both Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, who have long topped the charts with their 34-goal hauls in 1993-94 and 1994-95 respectively.
Haaland’s feat is even more impressive given both Cole and Shearer achieved their totals when the top-flight season was made up of 42 fixtures rather than 38.
The Norwegian spoke to Sky Sports after the game, saying: “A special night and special moment. Yeah, I’m really happy and proud.
“Of course I knew about it [the record]. Of course but we try to create the chances to score goals. It was not easy.
“They came here to try to defend for 90 minutes and we struggle a bit in the first half but second half, Nath [Ake] scored, I scored and the last one Phil [Foden] of course scored so it was an important win.”
Remarkably, the Citizens still have five more league games to go this term with relegation strugglers Leeds the next visitors to the Etihad on Saturday.
That means Haaland still has ample opportunity to add to his phenomenal total — and perhaps close in on one record still currently out of reach.
Back in the 1927-28 campaign, Everton’s Dixie Dean notched a staggering 63 goals in a single season across all competitions.
That remains the highest tally of anyone playing in England’s top tier, though Haaland now sits on 51 goals with City still competing on three fronts.
With five Premier League games, at least two Champions League ties and an FA Cup final still to come this term, it is not unthinkable for the ex-Borussia Dortmund star to chase down Dean’s haul.
