Haaland crowned a remarkable City display with
the third goal in his side's 3-0 defeat of Bayern Munich in the
first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
It took him past the 44 goals that Manchester United's Ruud van
Nistelrooy and Liverpool's Mo Salah scored for their sides in
2002-03 and 2017-18 -- but from only 39 games, 13 fewer than it
took Van Nistelrooy and Salah.
The last English top-flight player to score more in a single
season was Clive Allen for Tottenham Hotspur in 1986-87 when he
struck 49 goals and that will be Haaland's next target, as will
the five goals he requires to beat Alan Shearer and Andy Cole's
record of 34 goals in a Premier League season.
And with City still chasing three trophies the question is how
far Haaland, barring an injury, will raise the bar.
At his current rate of scoring, talk of 60 goals for the season
might even seem conservative, although perhaps Lionel Messi's 73
goals for Barcelona in all competitions in 2011-12, including 50
in La Liga, might just be out of reach.
"Every team has to fear this player because he is just a
monster. He is a beast, congratulations to Manchester City for
signing him," former Bayern Munich and Germany striker Mario
Gomez told BT Sport on Tuesday.
Haaland's 45th goal was a personal record, too, for the
22-year-old who scored a total of 44 in 2019-20 (28 for Salzburg
and 16 for Borussia Dortmund).
It was also his 11th Champions League goal this season, only one
behind the Premier League player record of 12 scored by Van
Nistelrooy in the 2002-03 competition.
And if he goes on to break Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 17
Champions League goals in a single season, City may well be
celebrating finally winning Europe's biggest prize.
"Haaland gives belief that maybe we didn't have in other years
because he has that killer attitude. People like him are born to
win trophies like the Champions League," City diehard fan Steven
McInerney, who hosts the Esteemed Kompany YouTube channel, told
the BBC.
"There's always a chance when you've got him because he's that
special."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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