Soccer
Erling Haaland: Ranking the Manchester City Striker’s 20 Goals This Season
Erling Haaland, the 22-year-old Manchester City striker, is tearing up the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and any other competition he plays in during his first season with the English club. Through 12 total matches, Haaland has 20 goals. As he sets his sights on the single-season Premier League record of 34 goals (Andy Cole 1993-94, Allan Shearer 1994-95) and the European soccer single-season mark of 73 (Lionel Messi 2011-12), we will rank every goal Haaland scores during Man City’s 2022-23 season.
Check back after every City fixture that Haaland scores in to see where his latest goal ranks on this list.
Ranking every Erling Haaland goal for Manchester City in the 2022-23 season
20. October 6, 2022: Champions League, vs. Copenhagen, goal 1/2
There are a few things to like here. Knowing just where to stop in the box and being in the right place at the right time when the ball pinballs through the defenders is impressive. So is the one-touch flick with no hesitation. That said, for Erling Haaland, this was about as boring as it gets.
19. October 8, 2022: Premier League, vs. Southampton, goal 1/1
Haaland left it to after the hour mark to keep his 10-game scoring streak alive, and it came in a 4-0 blowout vs. Southampton, so he loses points for both those facts. As for the goal itself, he found some pace and was in the right place at the right time to knock home Joao Cancelo’s cross. It simply is what Haaland does at this point so spoiled fans of the striker can’t get too exited about this one.
18. August 21, 2022: Premier League, vs. Newcastle, goal 1/1
A short corner led to a bouncing ball in traffic in front of the net, and Erling Haaland did an excellent job getting the ball up and over the goalkeeper’s shoulder. Not the prettiest goal, but cleaning the trash up in front of the net counts the same on the scoresheet as a golazo.
17. October 2, 2022: Premier League, vs. Manchester United, goal 1/3
A straightforward corner that Haaland just barely squeaked over the line with a straightforward header. It was the first goal of a three-goal performance vs. City’s biggest rival, Manchester United, so that gives it a tiny boost up the rankings.
16. October 6, 2022: Champions League, vs. Copenhagen, goal 2/2
You have to watch Haaland the whole time here to appreciate the subtleties of this goal. He jumps for the header in the middle of the box, misses it, and just floats into the perfect clear space (while staying onside) to be in a position to knock home the rebound. It’s a perfect poacher’s finish.
15. October 2, 2022: Premier League, vs. Manchester United, goal 3/3
Erling Haaland connected with a one-touch volley after a driven cross by youngster Sergio Gómez to complete his derby day hat trick and become the fastest EPL player to three hat tricks by a staggering 40 games. It was a bang-bang play but amazingly doesn’t rank all that high with all the other artistic finishes and setups on this list.
14. September 17, 2022: Premier League, vs. Wolves, goal 1/1
It wasn’t exactly a laser beam, but Haaland made a nice run here and took a shot from outside the box that skipped past José Sá. A long goal like this would be a top highlight for most players. With all the other stellar goals the Manchester City striker has scored this season, though, this doesn’t register near the top.
13. August 31, 2022: Premier League, vs. Nottingham Forest, goal 1/3
To start his march to his second EPL hat trick, Erling Haaland beat his man to the ball and showed great skill, popping the ball up into the top corner with one touch. The genius of this play was changing the angle of the cross and drawing two of the three defenders away from Haaland by taking the corner to the top of the box before the service.
12. August 27, 2022: Premier League, vs. Crystal Palace, goal 3/3
Haaland completed his first City hat trick with this goal at ensured the comeback victory. İlkay Gündoğan’s pass is a beauty, and the striker shows off his power here, as well as his finesse. He fights off two defenders to get the pass and slot it past the keeper for this strong goal.
11. August 27, 2022: Premier League, vs. Crystal Palace, goal 1/3
After years of the diminutive Sergio Agüero up front for Manchester City, the high cross became dirty words at the Etihad. Sending in an airborne pass just wasn’t effective without a big target. That changed with the arrival of Haaland, which adds yet another tool to players like Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, and Phil Foden’s (who got this assist) toolbox. It was an excellent headed finish by the big Norwegian here.
10. August 7, 2022: Premier League, vs. West Ham, goal 1/2
Erling Haaland’s first Premier League goal was a penalty, but it will rank higher in the list than most penalties for a few reasons. One is the slick pass by İlkay Gündoğan, and two is the nifty footwork by Haaland himself to draw the penalty on West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. Plus, it was the first of what could be a record-breaking number of goals.
9. September 3, 2022: Premier League, vs. Aston Villa, goal 1/1
This is Erling Haaland’s “floating” goal. Bernardo Silva slid a pass past the left-back as Kevin De Bruyne floated past him. Then De Bruyne put in a beautiful long cross that just floated over the outstretched arm of keeper Emiliano Martínez. Then Haaland jumped and seemingly floated in mid-air to meet the ball with his feet and kick it in.
8. September 6, 2022: UEFA Champions League, vs. Sevilla, goal 2/2
This isn’t Erling Haaland’s most exciting finish by any means. However, it ranks surprisingly high because of the build-up. Haaland starts the break 10-yards deep on the City side of the field. After he lays the ball off to Phil Foden, watch how the striker floats to the right space that puts him in the perfect position to coolly tap home the rebound. It’s a clinic in poaching.
7. August 7, 2022: Premier League, vs. West Ham, goal 2/2
Haaland’s second goal in his EPL debut came courtesy of a beautiful pass from Kevin De Bruyne. The calm and precise way he beats the goalkeeper one-on-one is underrated and hard to notice after KDB’s breathtaking pass.
6. August 31, 2022: Premier League, vs. Nottingham Forest, goal 2/3
Haaland’s second of three vs. Nottingham Forest was set up by his own high press. He pressured goalkeeper Dean Henderson into a turnover. The finish was a tap-in, but the give and go — especially the giveback from Foden, sacrificing his body to draw the defenders — made for a pretty goal.
5. October 2, 2022: Premier League, vs. Manchester United, goal 2/3
Goal No. 2 of Erling Haaland’s Manchester derby hat trick looked almost like a replay of his first Champions League goal vs. Sevilla (see below). De Bruyne’s curling low cross around the defender was impressive, as was Halland turning on the jets to scoot past two defenders and sliding into the ball to put it home.
4. August 31, 2022: Premier League, vs. Nottingham Forest, goal 3/3
A cross into the box from Joao Cancelo went from Phil Foden’s head to John Stones’ head to Erling Haaland’s head to the back of the net. It was a pretty goal and a fun one to watch (albeit against a bottom-of-the-table side in a 6-0 win) that gave Haaland his second EPL hat trick just 38 minutes into the first half.
3. August 27, 2022: Premier League, vs. Crystal Palace, goal 2/3
The finish itself is a simple tap-in, but the setup for the goal is classic Pep Guardiola’s Man City. A short corner leads to the ball ping-ponging around the box. It goes from Bernardo Silva to Kevin De Bruyne, back to Silva to Julián Álvarez, to Silva to John Stones, and finally ends up at Haaland’s feet for the easy touch. It’s tiki-taka at its finest
2. September 6, 2022: UEFA Champions League, vs. Sevilla, goal 1/2
A great 1-2 between Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne set this up and led to an even better De Bruyne low cross that blew by three Sevilla defenders and the keeper. In what is becoming Haaland’s trademark, he flies in at the end like a video game ninja and directs the ball home with the bottom of his foot.
1. September 14, 2022: UEFA Champions League, vs. Borussia Dortmund, goal 1/1
This was a game-winning goal, in the Champions League, against his former team. For those reasons alone, this would probably rank as his best goal of the season. The fact that Haaland laid out almost completely horizontal, five plus feet above the ground, between two defenders cements this rank (for now). And don’t take my word for it. Haaland said himself that this was “my best goal ever.”
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