The numbers that prove Erling Haaland’s record-breaking first Man City campaign was not a one-off

Erling Haaland, the premier hitman in world football at the moment, produced a record-breaking debut campaign with Manchester City that propelled them to a treble. The superstar forward spearheaded the attack and helped the club finally win their elusive Champions League title.

The naysayers suggested that Haaland would take a season to adapt to the difficult and turbulent Premier League; that he’d need a season to adapt to the pace of the game and the quality of the opposition since he was coming from the Bundesliga. This narrative gained even more traction after City’s loss to Liverpool in the Community Shield. But the naysayers could not be more wrong.

The Norwegian hit the ground running immediately by scoring twice in his Premier League debut against West Ham. He had an assist and a goal in his next two league games respectively and then came a devastating hat-trick against Crystal Palace. The second hat-trick didn’t take too long as he scored thrice in the next game against Nottingham Forest. All of a sudden, the naysayers looked foolish.

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Haaland took the Premier League by storm. It isn’t hyperbole to say that no player has adapted this well and this quickly to the Premier League.

He left destruction in his wake and with the best team in the country along with the best coach in the game, there was absolutely nothing any team or player could do about it. Erling Haaland became inevitable and slowly but surely the rest of the Premier League came to acceptance.

The Norwegian ended the season with 52 goals and nine assists in 53 games in all competitions. He scored in four different competitions. With that said, below