Haaland Hits 100 Premier League Goals in Record Time
Erling Haaland didn’t bother hiding from the expectations on his shoulders. Moments after becoming the fastest player in Premier League history to reach 100 goals, the Manchester City striker bluntly admitted the pressure is part of the job.
The Norway international hit the milestone with a 17th-minute finish in City’s chaotic 5-4 win over Fulham, ripping apart a record that stood for nearly three decades.
Manchester City looked ready to stroll home when they raced to a 3-0 lead and later held a 5-1 advantage, but a late Fulham surge turned the match into a thriller. Haaland’s goal ended up mattering far more than anyone anticipated in the opening stages.
His strike arrived in just his 111th Premier League appearance, smashing Alan Shearer’s previous mark of 124 games set back in 1995. In league history, no one has ever reached the century faster. Thierry Henry needed 141. Sergio Aguero 147. Mohamed Salah 162. Haaland shaved those benchmarks down to dust.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, he didn’t pretend to be surprised by the scrutiny that comes with being City’s No. 9.
“When you’re a striker for Man City, you should be delivering great numbers and that’s my job,” he said. “People should criticize me if I don’t. That’s normally what people do, so I should deliver.”
Since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in July 2022, Haaland has treated the Premier League like his own personal project. His debut campaign saw him smash the single-season scoring record with 36 goals. He backed that up with 27 last season, collecting two Golden Boots before most strikers had even figured out the league’s rhythm.
This season, he already sits on 15 goals from 14 appearances, three clear of his nearest challengers. A third scoring crown looks less like a possibility and more like an inevitability.
And the distribution of those goals tells its own story. Wolves have suffered the most, conceding 10 times in just six matches. West Ham and Manchester United have each given up eight. Fulham, the latest victims, have now watched him score seven goals across seven meetings. He has scored against every Premier League side he has faced, with Sunderland the only new opponent left this season.
Yet even with 100 goals behind him, the summit of Premier League scoring remains a distant target. Shearer’s all-time record of 260 goals, built across his years with Blackburn and Newcastle between 1992 and 2006, is still far out in the distance. But Haaland is only 24. The math, for once, works in his favor.
His reaction to the milestone hinted at both pride and hunger.
“It’s huge and I’m really proud and, of course, it’s a massive thing,” he said. “The 100 club is a nice thing to be in.”
The question now is not whether Haaland will chase Shearer, but how quickly that conversation becomes serious. Can he maintain this scoring pace for the next few years? Will City’s style, his health, and the league’s evolution help or hinder the pursuit?
For now, what’s clear is simple. He has rewritten another Premier League record. And with City fighting on multiple fronts again, Haaland doesn’t sound remotely satisfied.
He sounds like a striker who thinks 100 is just a warm-up.