Haaland Breaks Scoring Record As Man City Beat Leeds

The records keep tumbling for Manchester City striker, Erling Haaland, as his two goals helped his team beat Leeds United 3-1. The Norwegian star has taken 14 games to reach 20 goals in the Premier League which is seven games earlier than the next quickest. The win leapfrogs City over Newcastle into second spot in the Premier League table, just five points behind league leaders Arsenal.

While Leed put in a typically energetic performance in front of a very vocal home crowd, the sheer quality of the City attack was too much for them. Haaland didn’t have to work too hard for his first goal which was given to him on a plate by teammate, Jack Grealish, just before the break.

His second goal was equally simple when Grealish intercepted a sloppy Leeds pass and burst through onto goal before laying it to Haaland who scored into an open goal. The Norwegian striker could have even scored a hat-trick when he went one on one against the Leeds keeper, but got his legs tangled up and was unable to convert.

Haaland didn’t openly celebrate any of his goals as Leeds is the city of his birth and also the team he supports, but it shows that his lack of involvement at the World Cup hasn’t dampened his goalscoring ability.

Can Haaland guide City to another Premier League title?

While Arsenal still maintain the top spot in the Premier League, most bookmakers in the UK have City down as the favourites. The experience of manager Pep Guardiola and the sheer quality of the team means that they are still the side to beat this season, and the addition of Haaland is something that will cause fear in all of their opponents.

Interestingly, Guardiola said after the Leeds match that the striker was, ‘not at his best’. This is because Haaland is still recovering after an injury sustained in City’s Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund in October.

The foot injury took Haaland out of the first team for a number of games and he only trained once in the team’s warm weather training camp in December. But with Haaland scoring three times in the two games since the World Cup break, there is little doubt that the Norwegian’s name will be popping up in the live scores for the remainder of the season.

City have the chance to consolidate their good form when they entertain the troubled Everton team on New Year’s Eve. This will be followed by a trip to the improving Chelsea on 5 January which will be pivotal in City’s aspirations to catch up to Arsenal.

Haaland has already shown that he is more than worth the £51 million price tag that City paid to buy him from Borussia Dortmund, and it’s easy to see him breaking the Premier League goalscoring record. All of this means that there will be plenty of City fans who’ll be picking up the latest betting deals to back their team to claim the Premier League title once more.

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