Erling Haaland: What Man City ace needs to do to usurp Rangers goalscoring history-maker
After bagging his latest treble in the 6-3 win over Manchester United on Sunday, the Norwegian powerhouse took his tally to 14 goals in his opening eight fixtures and became the first player in history to score three consecutive home hat-tricks.
His current scoring rate would also see him comfortably surpass the record for the most number of goals scored in a single Premier League season with Andy Cole and Alan Shearer sharing the title on 34 goals each.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHowever, there is one goalscoring phenomenon on British shores that even Haaland may struggle to emulate in the shape of former Rangers striker Marco Negri.
The Italian, signed by Walter Smith from Perugia for £3.5 million in 1997, became a scoring sensation in Scotland with an incredible 23 goals in his opening 10 league matches for the Ibrox side.
That run included netting all five in a 5-1 win over Dundee United, and four in a 7-0 rout of Dunfermline.
To put it in perspective, Haaland would need to score nine more goals in his next two Man City fixtures – at home to Southampton and away to Liverpool – to match Negri's tally over the same opening stretch of matches.
Negri went on to net 36 goals in 39 appearances that season but his scoring rate dipped significantly after suffering a freak eye injury in a squash match with teammate Sergio Porrini, and his career never recovered.
While Negri was very much a flash in the pan, and at a lower standard than the EPL, Haaland, at 22, has plenty years ahead of him and looks set to become one of the greatest goalscorers the game has ever seen.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.