Champion Erling Haaland: The greatest individual Premier League season of all time

Ronan Murphy

• Updated: 20 May 2023 19:33 BST
• 4 min read

Erling Haaland. What can you say? We all knew he would be good, but we didn’t know just how good.

He has broken countless records for Manchester City in his inaugural season for the club. In his later showings, he proved that he is a lot more than just a simple goalscorer. He can hold up play, drop deep to help in transition, assist, and even, at times, has shown leadership qualities.

He has, arguably, had a better season than Thierry Henry did in the 2003/04 campaign. It is a heavy statement to make, but it’s one that we feel stands up now that City have been crowned Premier League champions.

Henry was a master - the best player in the world at a certain point. But when it comes down to brass tacks, his records don’t hold a flame to Haaland and his season.

The Norway international has blown all his predecessors out of the water in terms of his goal return.

READ MORE: Erling Haaland goals and assists in 2022-23

His campaign has been simply unprecedented, but what’s scary to remember is: it’s not over yet. The evidence is there. In his debut against West Ham, he became only the second Man City player to score on his Premier League debut, following on from Sergio Aguero’s display in 2011.

His ninth goal came, quite unbelievably, in August. His finish against Nottingham Forest made him the top scorer in that month in any Premier League season.

Against Aston Villa, Haaland became the fastest player to hit 10 Premier League goals, doing so in six games.

In December against Leeds, the former Borussia Dortmund star earned the achievement of being the fastest player to score 25 goals under Pep Guardiola. Haaland did so in 20 matches – eight fewer than Lionel Messi.

His 22nd Premier League goal made him the highest scorer out of any Man City player during the Guardiola era.

His 44th goal, against Southampton, equalled the record set by Mohamed Salah and Ruud van Nistelrooy for the number of goals across all competitions scored by a Premier League player. His 45th broke that record. After which he netted his 33rd league goal - surpassing Salah to hold the record for the most scored in a 38-game Premier League season.

But Haaland wasn’t finished there. Further goals saw him overtake Alan Shearer and Andy Cole for the number of goals scored in a 42-match Premier League format, after they both netted 34 in the mid-nineties.

It has been a phenomenal campaign for Haaland. One which surely beats Henry’s campaign almost 20 years ago under Arsene Wenger.

The Frenchman scored 30 goals in that season, providing six assists. Haaland has 36 Premier League goals to his name already, with three games to spare (he has over 50 in all competitions).

Furthermore, he has registered seven assists in that time, with his side on the brink of a historic treble as they prepare for the finals of the FA Cup and Champions League.

It might not be a popular take but everything is there to suggest that Haaland has had the greatest-ever Premier League campaign by a player.