FootyChatter.com

In his debut season with Manchester City, Erling Haaland broke the record for the most goals scored by a player in a Premier League season with 36 Erling Haaland has done it again. A little more than a week ago, his goal against Brighton meant he claimed yet another Premier League record, with his 88 goals the most any player has scored in their first 100 games. Now, the Norwegian striker has taken his tally to 48 goals in 45 games for his country with five goals in their 11-1 win against Moldova on Tuesday. His fifth treble for Norway. Remember, he also scored 86 goals in 89 games for Dortmund, prior to coming to City. With such an incredible goalscoring record, it makes sense to consider the Manchester City striker an unbelievable finisher. But Haaland's finishing is not what makes him a phenomenal goalscorer. Given the quantity and quality of chances that Haaland has had since joining the Premier League in 2022, the average player historically would have scored about 84 goals, meaning that the Norwegian's finishing being above-average accounts for just four of his incredible goals tally (and just two if you exclude penalties). It's the same for the other top scorers in the Premier League in that time too, with the ability of players like Mohamed Salah and Ollie Watkins to regularly get chances the key to them scoring so many goals. Haaland's critics might jump on this as proof that anyone could score bundles of goals if they played up front for Manchester City. But what that fails to recognise is that no other player would get as many and as good chances as Haaland does because they're not as strong, fast or tall as he is. Nor do they have the incredible movement, anticipation and reflexes that he does that make him such an unmanageable monstrosity for defenders. While obviously playing for Pep Guardiola's side means he gets great service from his team-mates, if we compare his non-penalty numbers to another world-class striker who's played there - Sergio Aguero - Haaland's brilliance in getting great chances becomes clear. Despite shooting more often than Haaland, Aguero didn't score as many goals and, looking at their shot conversion rates, it seems that the Norwegian was simply more clinical. But when we take the quality of their shots into account, Aguero was actually a better finisher - converting 2% more of his chances than a player would historically. However, Haaland consistently creates himself much better chances to score, so he still comes out as the better goalscorer overall. Looking at the top forwards in Europe's top five leagues since Haaland joined City, it's clear that most have to choose between taking lots of lower-quality shots - like Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe - or fewer, high-quality ones - like Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy - to score their goals. But not Haaland. He takes a lot of shots and barely compromises on the quality. The only players who do the same are Paris St-Germain's Goncalo Ramos - who often benefits from playing against tired defences as a substitute - and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, who many consider the greatest striker of the past decade. Haaland's ability to consistently get great chances to score is so remarkable that other world-class forwards playing for other world-class teams have to be better finishers to score as many goals as he does. Even this early into the new Premier League season, Haaland is already showing how unstoppable he is when it comes to getting chances. Already the top scorer with three goals in three games, he's generated twice as much x G (expected goals) as any other player and arguably should have scored more, showing that there is much more to what makes him a phenomenal goalscorer than just his finishing. Latest Manchester City news, analysis and fan views Ask about Man City - what do you want to know? Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Impressive England hit five in Serbia to maintain perfect start How dream relationship soured as Forest turn to Postecoglou 'No Plan B' for Vuelta despite more protests The rise and fall of the scandalous Maxwell family Your weekly go-to for women’s football Power, secrets and toxic friendships collide in a dangerous game For how long will traces of our civilisation last? British racing on strike - what's the background? What makes five-goal Haaland such a phenomenal goalscorer? What Spence's England milestone means for Muslims How dream relationship soured as Forest turn to Postecoglou Watch: Why is horse racing going on strike? Video Watch: Why is horse racing going on strike? In Pictures: Sporting photos of the week The Whole 10 Yards. Video The Whole 10 Yards Are Scotland finally finding striker solutions? 'People being happy for me is bigger than any win' 'Playing perfectly' - how does Alcaraz rank v men's tennis legends at 22? Watch highlights from Scotland's win over Belarus. Video Watch highlights from Scotland's win over Belarus 'I want to change the game' - meet Black Ferns star Miller Test Match Special. Audio Test Match Special 'A heavy shirt to wear' - being Man Utd number one 'Partisan Irish fans provide timely Ryder Cup reminder' 'I see you more than my family' - Alcaraz on Sinner rivalry The wonderkids who didn't make it 'I pretended to be Owen on the street - but you can't compare us' 'Take back little Molly' - Mc Cann takes pay cut to box Football in Greenland: The 'toughest' championship in the world? Video Football in Greenland: The 'toughest' championship in the world? Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.