By Samuel A. March 19, 2023
Erling Haaland is arguably the best player in the world right now, the Norwegian international has transformed Manchester City from a great team into one that is capable of blowing everyone else away this season. He has pace, power and fantastic movement. He also has a true goal scorer’s instinct, which enables him to get into positions that others cannot see.
Haaland is just one goal shy of 40 goals in his first season at the club, and has also set up five, making 44 goal contributions in just 36 games – the highest in Europe. Just to highlight how much of an impact Haaland has made so far in a City shirt, he can now claim to have scored as many career Premier League hat tricks (three) as Cristiano Ronaldo. Haaland pulled level with the former Man United forward after just eight games into the season. Michael Owen had been the quickest player to score three Premier League hat tricks, with 48 games for Liverpool, so Haaland is simply obliterating records that had been expected to stand for decades.
When asked about Erling’s potential, Pep Guardiola said “What Erling is doing, he has done in Norway, Austria and Germany, that’s the reality. With the quality we have alongside him, it helps him score goals.” He continued “What he has done -how he scores, how he moves, his incredible instinct to know when the ball is coming — I have never taught him anything. He got all that from his parents”, he said as he praised the Norwegian sensation.
Kylian Mbappe is perhaps the only footballer who could argue that he should be placed higher than Haaland as the best in the world, as the Frenchman boasts a massive 31 goals in 32 games for Paris Saint-Germain this season. His numbers are quite close to Erling’s, considering their goal per game ratio. Haaland and Mbappe are set to dominate the world stage over the next decade, just as Messi and Ronaldo did during the past decade. Neither has won a Champions League yet, but it would be a pretty safe bet to suggest that one or the other will do it soon. Erling Haaland is simply unguardable right now and, if he maintains his form, Man City will win a boatload of trophies this season.
