da imperador bet： The Norwegian blew apart almost every opponent he faced in his astonishing debut season, and can rule English football for as long as he likes
da roleta： The week before his first Premier League match with Manchester City, Erling Haaland spoke to Alan Shearer and gave a fascinating insight into his personality. "You have to go into the game hungry. It doesn’t matter what happened before, if you scored three goals, if you scored zero goals, if you haven’t scored in a while," Haaland told Shearer.
Throughout his rip-roaring debut season, in which he scored a jaw-dropping 52 goals from 53 games, Haaland has always stayed hungry. Whether he had not scored for a couple of games or had netted a hat-trick, he was as motivated in the next game, ready to strike again.
Haaland had pretty much the perfect first season in England, on every level. He fired City to the Premier League title, the FA Cup and, best of all, helped them finally win the Champions League, the trophy he had craved the most. He also won the Golden Boot as top scorer in the Premier League with an astonishing 36 goals, more than any player in the league's 31-year history.
And now he has won the Men's PFA Players' Player of the Year Award, a fitting recognition for his achievements. GOAL pays tribute to the record-breaking Norwegian, who has been an absolute joy to watch, even for rival fans. Defenders, on the other hand, have been given endless nightmares, however. And the bad news for them? He's only just getting started…
Doubters queue up after tough start
When Haaland spoke to Shearer he had just had a disappointing debut in English football, failing to score in the Community Shield defeat by Liverpool and missing two big chances in the space of 30 seconds. Some had already began to question whether the Norwegian would be as prolific with City as he had been with Borussia Dortmund and Red Bull Salzburg, with whom he had averaged more than a goal per game.
City's all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero was quick to weigh in. "He was too used to Germany," Aguero said. "Haaland thought he was alone, then Virgil van Dijk arrived and said, 'Welcome to the Premier League'."
AdvertisementGettyPerfect response
The very next week, Haaland had his own welcome to the Premier League, scoring twice in his proper debut against West Ham. He got off the mark by winning a penalty with his quick feet and then slamming the ball into the bottom corner from the spot. He celebrated it with a meditation pose, as if to say that amid all the pressure of joining the most competitive league in the world, he was as calm as could be. His second goal showcased his clever movement off the ball, his speed and his ruthless finishing.
Everyone expected Haaland to fill his boots in his first home game against Bournemouth, but he failed to score in the 4-0 win. Not to worry. He was back amongst the goals against Newcastle, and then hit back-to-back hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, vindicating his words to Shearer.
Getty A throwback
Haaland's first season in England was a dream for City fans, but his arrival was also a boon for the Premier League. Many great strikers have graced the English top-flight, but lately the league has been dominated by wide forwards such as Mohamed Salah, Bukayo Saka or Eden Hazard, or deep-lying forwards such as Harry Kane.
Haaland is a throwback to another era, and as he continued to plunder goals for fun, each match he played had an extra layer of fascination. 'Just how many will he score today?' was what many would wonder before each City match.
In one match, against RB Leipzig, he scored five and, had Pep Guardiola not substituted him in the 63rd minute, he could well have made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score a double hat-trick.
Getty ImagesOne goal every 77 minutes
Even though the sight of Haaland scoring became so routine, the numbers he put up look no less astonishing, provoking a double-take each time you look at them. He finished the season with 52 goals in all competitions from 53 matches. He only started 50 of them.
He finished top scorer in both the Premier League and Champions League, averaging a goal every 77 minutes in both competitions. His 36 strikes in the Premier League saw him break the record for most goals in a season, one that had stood for 28 years.
And unlike Andy Cole and Shearer, who shared that record for scoring 34 times in a campaign, he had four fewer games to work with, as they hit their milestones when there were 42 matches in a season.