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Erling Haaland: Decoding his performance ahead of the Manchester derby
Haaland has enjoyed himself at Man City (Photo credit: Twitter/@PremierLeague)

Erling Haaland: Decoding his performance ahead of the Manchester derby

Sep 30, 2022
05:17 pm

What's the story

Sunday sees rivals Manchester City and Manchester United fight it out at the Etihad in a crucial Premier League encounter. For Manchester United, the biggest concern is how can they stop Erling Haaland? Haaland has been an absolute peach so far in all competitions for City and his Premier League numbers have taken everyone by storm. Here we decode his performance.

Context

Why does this story matter?

Erik ten Hag has helped United find some steel after losing the first two league games. United have won four on the trot since then, beating two big rivals in the form of Liverpool and Arsenal. Away from home, United have beaten Southampton and Leicester City, keeping clean sheets. But keeping Haaland quiet is a major challenge for United as he can create problems.

Goals

11 goals already in 7 PL games

In seven Premier League matches for far, Haaland has already netted 11 goals, clocking the best returns by a player in PL history in this timeline. In between this run, Haaland has scored back-to-back hat-tricks during wins over Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest at the Etihad. Haaland (26) is also just the second player after Aleksander Mitrovic (28) in terms of clocking 25-plus shots.

Information

Best ratio in terms of goals per 90 minutes

As per Sky Sports, Haaland has a ratio of 1.72 goals per 90 minutes which is more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues this season to have played in excess of 126 minutes.

Danger

Where can Haaland be dangerous?

Haaland is a poacher and has six goals from inside the six-yard box. With Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, and Bernardo Silva in support, United will need to stop them from finding the perfect deliveries for the former Borussia Dortmund striker. Haaland is also very dangerous when firing to the left side of the goal. He has scored six of seven shots on target.

Do you know?

14 goals for Man City in 10 games

Haaland scored 14 goals for Manchester City in his first 10 games before the international break. Beside his 11 goals in the PL, he has also netted three in the Champions League from just two games. He also has recorded one assist so far.

Opta stats

Breaking down Haaland's numbers in the Premier League

Haaland has played a total of 575 minutes so far in the Premier League. He has attempted 91 passes, completing 72. He has a pass accuracy of 79.12%. 10 of his 11 goals have come from inside the box. He has scored one penalty and two headers. He has made one tackle, completed four take-ons, winning two aerial, and 10 ground duels.

Records

Premier League: Haaland sets these new records

As per Opta, Haaland became the first player in Premier League history to score in each of his first four away games in the competition after netting a goal versus Wolves. Earlier against Nottingham Forest, Haaland (9) set a new competition record as he surpassed Mick Quinn and Sergio Aguero (both 8) in terms of most goals in the first five Premier League appearances.

Information

With successive hat-tricks, Haaland smashed this record

Haaland registered two successive hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest respectively. As per Squawka, only six players have scored hat-tricks in consecutive Premier League appearances: Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Harry Kane (twice), and Haaland.

UCL

Haaland became fastest player to reach 25 Champions League goals

City thrashed Sevilla in their opening UCL encounter. Haaland scored a brace for Pep Guardiola's side. Haaland became the fastest player in UCL history to reach the landmark of 25 goals. He has taken 20 UCL matches to reach the milestone, breaking the previously held record by Ruud van Nisterlrooy and F Inzaghi. Both these players had taken 30 matches to reach 25 goals.