Haaland scores from the penalty spot against Fulham.
Dylan Martinez/Reuters
CNN
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For Erling Haaland, breaking records has become as routine as scoring goals. Arguably no player has made such an impact in his first season in the English Premier League.
The Manchester City forward scored a third-minute penalty Sunday to help his team to a 2-1 win over Fulham, a victory which moved City to the top of the league and a point ahead of its nearest challenger Arsenal with a game to spare.
But the talk won’t be of City’s push to become English champion for the fifth time in six seasons. Instead, it will be Haaland dominating the headlines, and rightly so.
His goal against Fulham was his 50th of the season in all competitions. No Premier League player has ever scored as many. Astonishingly, he has reached that mark in 44 games.
Only Everton’s Dixie Dean, who scored 63 goals in the 1927/28 season, has scored more goals in English football during a single top-flight campaign, according to the Premier League.
The penalty was his 34th goal in the league, equaling Alan Shearer (1994-95) and Andy Cole (1993-94) for the most goals scored in a Premier League season.
With six games of the season remaining, it is likely only a matter of time before the 22-year-old overtakes the two English strikers in the history books.
The match didn’t all go City’s way with Fulham leveling through Carlos Vinícius in the 15th minute. But Julián Álvarez’s 36th-minute strike proved to be the winner, extending City’s unbeaten run to 18 matches.
City still has hopes of completing the ‘treble’ as Pep Guardiola’s side remains in contention to win the league, the FA Cup and the Champions League.