Erling Haaland equals a Premier League record as Manchester City closes gap on Arsenal in title race

Erling Haaland scored a brace in Manchester City’s 3-1 victory over Leicester City.

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CNN
 — 

With each record that Erling Haaland breaks, the next one seems more inevitable, such is the sheer volume of goals he is scoring this season.

The Norwegian added another two goals to his tally in Manchester City’s 3-1 victory over Leicester City on Saturday, equaling Mo Salah’s record of 32 goals in a 38-game Premier League season, with eight games still remaining to surpass that mark.

He is now just two goals shy of the outright record held jointly by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, but which was set when there were 42 games in a season, in 1993-94 and 1994-95 respectively.

And the 22-year-old’s latest goal arrived just four days after he scored his 45th goal in all competitions this season – the most ever by a Premier League player in history.

“I desire he breaks all the records possible, that means he scores a lot of goals which helps us,” City’s manager Pep Guardiola told the BBC. “I think he wants titles and we are still there but it is impressive and still eight games to play to break all of them.”

Haaland’s exploits on Saturday helped City close the gap and move within four points of league leader Arsenal, as the Premier League hurtles towards a thrilling conclusion with the title race finely poised.

Haaland scores a penalty on Saturday.

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City is currently in imperious form with 10 consecutive wins in all competitions and a game in hand, while Arsenal, league leaders for almost the entire season, drew against Liverpool last week and against West Ham on Sunday, after letting a 2-0 lead slip in both games.

The two teams face each other on April 26 in a game that will almost certainly decide the title’s destination.

And City is doing everything to keep Haaland fit for the decisive run of games at the end of the season, as it juggles the Champions League and FA Cup knockout stages with the Premier League title race.

“We take care of him 24 hours (a day),” Guardiola told reporters Friday. “We have incredible doctors and physiotherapists, they are behind him every second of the day.

“Today with this demanding schedule of games every three or four days we have to take care of them.

“It’s so demanding, with nutrition, rest, sleep, food… We know we have to watch him because he’s so big.”