Is Haaland already the Best Striker to play in the Premier League?

Every now and then, something special comes along that completely shatters our perception of what’s possible and what’s impossible. In the world of football, that something special has arguably been Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (depending on who you root for).

We are lucky enough to have witnessed the era of Messi/Ronaldo, and now we are in the age of Haaland. Erling Haaland is the world’s latest top player. He has transformed Manchester City's team into one capable of winning the league this season and is turning heads in the online sports betting world.

Just ask Man United, who lost 6-3 against City last week after a second hat trick from Haaland. Foden also netted his hat trick on a memorable day for Guardiola's squad. However, Haaland, tearing through defences like a hot knife through butter, was the show's star once more.

Haaland’s Performance

Haaland has scored 14 goals for City this season, 14 more than any other side in the Premier League, and a total of 17 goals overall in only 11 games. This included hat tricks scored against Nottingham Forest, Man United and Crystal Palace in consecutive home victories.


Haaland has now equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's career total of hat tricks in the Premier League, underscoring his significant effects while wearing his Man City jersey. In only eight League games, Erling Haaland has managed to match Ronaldo's position.

Owen holds the record for the fastest player to obtain three Premier League hat tricks. It took Owen as many as 48 Premier League games to reach his third hat trick. Erling Haaland is busy shattering other players' records that we expected them to hold for much longer.

Haaland and Mbappe

The fact that Christiano Ronaldo remained on the Man United bench for 90 minutes while Haaland tore apart his team is bittersweet. For a long time, Ronaldo and Messi have shared the best world player title.


Still, after seeing Haaland’s skills up close, he now knows that the torch has been firmly handed to Haaland. The only player who would contend that he deserves to be ranked above Haaland as the greatest player worldwide is Kylian Mbappe.


However, he has only managed to score 11 goals from 10 games so far this year. When we compared his stats to Haaland's, his seemed insignificant. Just as Ronaldo and Messi did during the previous decade, Mbappe and Haaland will now rule in the future.

World Cup Absence

Haaland won't be attending the 2022 World Cup because Norway didn't make it, which is a great disappointment for football. Without its finest player, the largest competition in the sport will undoubtedly fall short in Qatar.


Nevertheless, Haaland and Man City will improve throughout the season due to their absence in the upcoming World Cup. He will remain fresher for the rest of this year’s season while competitors use their mental and physical energy competing in Qatar.

Championship Standings

Before Erling Haaland joined, City was already ranked as the top English team. With him leading the team’s scoring, the team climbing to first place in the ranks is a stronger possibility. In the fight for the championship, they are still behind Arsenal but could catch up quickly.


Man United was the first out of the Big Six teams to tackle Man City and Haaland. Before their last game, people may have argued that Erling Haaland's statistics were inflated due to his and his team’s slow start to the season and that tougher tests would reveal the truth about Haaland’s skills.

However, after City humiliated United by beating them 6-3, we can all see what’s happening: Haaland seems practically unstoppable and moves with amazing force, agility and speed. He has amazing goal-scoring insight and enters spaces most attackers (and defenders, for that matter) don't even see.

When Haaland positioned himself to finish De Bruyne's excellent cross to claim his second goal in the game against United, it was an excellent illustration of how he saw an opportunity that other strikers would possibly have missed.

Haaland: the Record Breaker

No player in history has scored six goals in a single Premier League game. Only a select few players have scored five goals, but fans believe that Haaland will be able to achieve it. Haaland could have scored as many as five goals to commemorate his first Man United derby with the way he creates opportunities.

While United avoided punishment, another side will have it worse. United's painful truth is that they were close to signing him a few years ago. However, United would not approve a buyout provision in Haaland's contract. Instead, he transferred to Borussia Dortmund from FC Salzburg.

It appeared that United's choice would come back to bite them, and it most definitely did last week.