'He's a gift to us': Natural-born goalscorer Haaland has the world at his feet

Erling Haaland's feat in equalling the record for the number of Premier League goals in a season makes a mockery of the idea that it takes time to settle in the English top flight.

The Norway powerhouse scored a penalty in Manchester City's 2-1 win at Fulham on Sunday to move to 34 league goals - level with the mark set by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole.

In the process the 22-year-old scored his 50th goal of the season for City in all competitions.

The Norwegian's strike rate puts even his much-vaunted predecessors, who played in the era of 42-game seasons, in the shade.

Shearer started all 42 matches of the 1994/95 season as he fired Blackburn to the title, while Cole made 40 appearances the previous year for Newcastle.

Haaland has needed just 30 games to reach 34 goals, having already raced past Liverpool's Mohamed Salah to set a new record for a 38-game season.

"If you were building a centre-forward from the ground up, Erling is what you would be left with," Shearer told The Athletic.

"He's a goal machine, someone who is quick and direct, who is physically strong and good in the air, who can score with both feet and whose positioning is fantastic."

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City's determination to win the battle among Europe's elite clubs for the striker's signature last year has been rewarded in spectacular fashion.

Pep Guardiola's men won back-to-back league titles playing largely without an attacking focal point but any suggestion they could be thrown off course by Haaland's arrival has proved unfounded.

"He is a gift to all of us," said Guardiola. "He is a huge competitor, his mentality is there."

Haaland has now hit his half-century in all competitions this