Facing a tight schedule, coach Pep Guardiola made a series of changes when Man City faced West Ham in the Premier League. He gave goalkeeper Stefan Ortega the opportunity to play and even promoted midfielder John Stones to play as a playmaker.
Record holder Erling Haaland
Even though the Spanish teacher made such adjustments, an important thing still appeared. That was Erling Haaland scoring.
More worth mentioning, with this goal, the Norwegian player has a total of 35 goals in the Premier League this season – an unprecedented achievement. In his first season playing football in the foggy country, Haaland broke a record that had existed for nearly 3 decades – something that even top strikers like Ronaldo, Henry or Van Nistelrooy had to give up. And Haaland did this when he was only 22 years old.
Like his two seniors Ronaldo and Messi, Haaland was born to set new milestones for world football. Over the past few months, Haaland has become ‘the youngest player to score 30 goals in the Champions League’, ‘the player needing the fewest matches to score 30 goals in the Champions League’ and ‘Premier League Player He scores the most goals in all competitions’.
Once doubted about his ability to succeed when landing at Man City, Haaland quickly crushed opposing opinions by scoring 15 goals and 3 assists in just the first 10 matches. Teams in the foggy country began to drop their squad deeper if they had to meet Man City, sending more personnel to follow Haaland’s bet.
However, in a sublime season, Haaland is almost unstoppable. Up to now, Haaland has conceded goals to 16/19 teams in the Premier League this season.
The achievement of 34 goals/season in the Premier League was once considered an ‘unbreakable’ record, set by Alan Shearer and Andy Cole at a time when the season lasted 42 matches instead of the current 38. . However, Haaland still passed easily (at this time he had scored 36 goals). If coach Pep Guardiola had not given him a break recently, the above number would certainly be even higher.
However, Haaland’s value lies not only in goals. ‘He brings us a lot of things. He puts pressure on opponents and participates in defense. He makes our long ball options effective. He helps us keep control of the ball,’ coach Pep Guardiola shared not long ago.
Ready to conquer new heights
In the context of the two superstars Messi and Ronaldo gradually passing their peak, Haaland rose to become the brightest star. This season, the Norwegian player scored a total of 52 goals and 8 assists in all competitions. The English Premier League championship is here. If he and Man City complete the treble with the addition of the Champions League and FA Cup, the Norwegian player can expect to win the first Golden Ball of his career.
Haaland now has all the conditions to become a new superstar of world soccer. The player born in 2000 is talented, very disciplined, plays at a top club and is led by an excellent Pep Guardiola.
“Haaland is the best player in the world at the moment. If you are thinking about who will win the Golden Ball in the future, it is him,’ former striker Wayne Rooney shared not long ago.
Haaland’s job now is to maintain what he has and continue moving forward. When asked about breaking records, Haaland smiled and admitted that he would “go crazy” if he thought too much about that issue.
The Norwegian will utilize his time for other interests. ‘I will go home, play a few games, eat something and then go to bed early,’ Haaland revealed after scoring against West Ham on May 4.
Haaland’s road ahead is still very long. The record holder of English football also understands that. So instead of comparing himself to anyone, Haaland chooses to practice every day, trying to play well in each match. Once he feels comfortable, Haaland is capable of scoring against any team.
When they are very close to an unbelievable treble, Man City really needs a striker like that.
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