Goal-hungry Haaland targets more records for Man City

Manchester City’s Norwegian striker Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring their third goal during the English Premier League football match between Southampton and Manchester City at St Mary’s Stadium in Southampton, southern England on April 8, 2023. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)

Is any record safe with Manchester City hotshot Erling Haaland around?

The 22-year-old Norwegian could overhaul Mohamed Salah’s record of 32 goals in a 38-game Premier League season this weekend, with relegation-threatened Leicester the fearful visitors.

The overall single-season record of 34 goals in the Premier League era — set in the days of 42 games per side by Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer — will surely be next to fall.

Haaland’s goal in Manchester City’s 3-0 demolition of Bayern Munich this week — his 11th in the Champions League this season — was his 45th for the club in all competitions in an incredible debut campaign for Pep Guardiola’s team.

That broke the all competitions goal record by a Premier League player since the rebranded top-flight was founded in 1992, with the previous highest total set 20 years ago by Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy and matched in 2017/18 by Liverpool’s Salah.

Van Nistelrooy and Salah both took 52 games to score those 44 goals. Haaland has played just 39 games so far.

“He is the most efficient striker I have ever seen. His goalscoring is out of this world,” said former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who played for Bayern and City.

Even Everton striker Dixie Dean’s all-time English record of 63 goals set in the 1927/28 season looks within reach — though his mark of 60 in the top-flight in that campaign will surely remain intact, with Haaland currently on 30.

There are a maximum of 15 games remaining