Who is stopping Erling Haaland?

In Premier League There is already clear evidence that the City of Manchester playing with a certain advantage. In addition to having all the best cards, no one has the same striker Erling Haalandthe ‘ace’ of the deck in English football. The Norwegian burst into every game with the strength of a buffalo and the speed of a cat to be decisive in his goals. And with a player like that, as demonstrated again at West Ham’s London Stadium, it will be difficult for any Premier team to stand any chance. The local technician, Julen Lopeteguihe admitted it disappointed: “We are disappointed. We did things well, but it wasn’t enough.

Haaland He makes all the difference and imposes his power on most defences, when he is as fresh, rested and agile as he looks today. Judging its accuracy against a West Ham Much to his dismay, the Norwegian international seems determined to put his patchy form from last season behind him and is set to break all the records. Not playing the European Championship with Norway was very good for him. own Pep Guardiola highlights the transformation of his player, whose ambition seems to have no limits. And he allows himself to joke about the situation: “It’s unstoppable. No central defense, even with a gun, can stop him.”

And it was the Manchester City striker’s eighth hat-trick in the English league, his second in a row, seven goals in his first three games, underlining how well a summer without competing. Has 11 hat-tricks at City, 24 in his career, with his club and his country, and 70 Premier League goals in 69 games. What is remarkable is the level of effectiveness. Even Premier League legends like it Thierry Henry, Harry Kane either Michael Owenwho achieved the same number of hat tricks as Haaland, is longer than City’s ‘nine’. Henry achieved the feat in 258 games, Kane in 320 and Owen in 326. The comparison speaks for itself.

best of all things

Haaland will need another 190 goals to equal the Premier League’s top scorer’s total of 260, Alan Shearer. If his pace of 80 minutes per goal can be maintained, he will need another three and a half seasons to be crowned the greatest of all time. For now, and with rival defenses concerned, Haaland said that after the summer break, he feels ready to set more records, although he warned that the players cannot fit “if they play 70 games a year.”

The moment in Manchester was one of delight for the way in which Haaland returned from the summer. “He plays better in everything,” admitted Pep Guardiola after seeing the moves and effectiveness of the City scorer. His motivation to train and improve also led to that positive change. Haaland was seen staying in the facilities for half an hour after sessions, to do individual work and the carers admitted that last season that did not happen, as he was always struggling and feeling tired.

The current record for goals in a season is 36 set by Haaland in 2022-23. With the Norwegian’s second hat trick, where he now has seven goals in three Premier League games, he is well on his way to surpassing it. Manchester City’s ease of finding goals did not bode well for their rivals, although Arne Slot’s Liverpool started with similar effectiveness. Two of their best forwards, Luis Díaz and Salah, have shone at the start of the season and are taking the ‘pulse’ with City. Among their goals, the ‘reds’ also achieved three victories and conceded no goals.

First Gunner concession

Arsenal also conspired this year to try to be better and not fail, but, already in the third game, a ‘little mistake’ by Declan Rice, when moving the ball when the Brighton defender, Joel Veltmanwould incur a foul, earning him a second yellow card and expulsion. The seagulls, who are training today Fabian Hurzeler They knew how to exploit their superiority to secure a draw, marking Arsenal’s first setback in the title race. Although the referee’s decision to caution Rice was very strict and worthy of Mikel Arteta’s protests, the level of demand the Gunners imposed on themselves required maximum concentration from the players to avoid those mistakes that are then compensated with points.

Another thing is the level of Premier referees and their lack of common sense when applying the rules. Perhaps, Rice’s foul should have been assessed as what it was, a nonsense, punishable by the regulations, but, given the importance of the moment of the game that could have resulted in an ejection, the referee would have, Chris Kavanaghrather than being more flexible, when a second yellow card leaves a team in the bottom, and conditioning the result. Empathy and common sense should also be part of the refereeing code of conduct, because the decision to send off Rice, because of its disproportionateness, gave a bad image to the English league.

Without Rice and without a scorer as explosive as Haaland, Arsenal will now need to compete in the next few games and also, with pressure to make no mistakes, because of the Norwegian’s effectiveness. Their performances herald another good year for Manchester City, with only two clouds on the horizon: Guardiola’s renewal, currently up in the air, and the resolution of 115 charges of financial violations of the City, for violating the Premier’s rules.