Best PL goalscorer ever?
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Erling Haaland continued his incredible start to the season with another brace in Manchester City’s 5-1 win over Burnley on Saturday. The Norwegian international extended his tally for the season to 14 goals for club and country in just eight games to draw praise from Pep Guardiola. “His numbers are insane,” Guardiola said. “We joke but the numbers are incredible. He’s an incredibly important figure for us. He always has chances for us and you always have the feeling that he can score.”
Since bursting onto the scene with Molde in his homeland, Haaland has scored at an extraordinary rate and he’s indisputably the best goalscorer of his generation. The 25-year-old has broken records at RB Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund, Man City and internationally with Norway. Haaland has netted 133 goals in 155 games since moving to England in 2022 and his goalscoring record at the start of every English Premier League season is extraordinary.
Erling Haaland: Incredible Premier League start record
Haaland’s double against Burnley made it eight goals in six league games this season, which is double the second-highest player. That tally, incredibly, ranks as Haaland’s joint worst scoring return in his first six Premier League games, since joining Man City from Borussia Dortmund. Haaland also netted eight goals in six games at the start of the 2003/04 campaign but he managed ten goals in six games in his other two seasons – 2022/23 and 2024/25. As the graphic below illustrates, Haaland has scored a phenomenal 36 goals in just 24 games, across the first six games of his four seasons in the Premier League.
That averages at 1.5 goals per game, which is a strike rate that no other player in the league’s history can match. Haaland is absolutely lethal in front of goal and he’s fired Man City to two league titles and Champions League glory. But it will be fascinating to see if Haaland can continue to score at such a prolific rate across the remainder of the league season as he’s been unable to do so across the past three campaigns. In the first six games, Haaland has netted 28 goals in 18 matches at a rate of 1.56 goals per game but that rate has dropped to 0.7 goals per game across the remainder of the three seasons.
