Haaland hits 25/25 in Premier League

For those who cannot always catch a Manchester City game live, there is usually one question waiting for someone who did: “Has Haaland scored?” Such is the sense of inevitability the Norwegian striker has brought to the game.

That question was answered once again on Saturday when City faced Sunderland in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium. 

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The 26-year-old watched seven goals fly in -- four for his teammates, through Enzo Fernandez, Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo’s brace, and three for Sunderland through Brian Brobbey -- and even missed a decent chance himself before finally getting on the scoresheet.

His late strike sealed a 5-3 win, sent City top of the table and completed their seventh successive victory in all competitions this season, putting them three points clear of defending champions Arsenal heading into the international break.

Haaland now has five goals in as many league games, having failed to score only against Bournemouth in City’s season opener.

And with his goal against Sunderland, Haaland added another entry to his ridiculous list of goalscoring records.

He has now scored against all 25 teams he has faced in the Premier League since making his debut in August 2022. In his previous two meetings with Sunderland, he had failed to score from three shots across 159 minutes.

But the 25/25 record comes with one obvious catch; Haaland has never faced Hull City in the Premier League. So the Tigers are the only team standing between him and a perfect 26/26.

Only one other player has scored against every team he faced in the Premier League after playing more than one game: Harry Kane.

The former Tottenham striker scored against all 32 opponents he faced in the competition. He is also close to pulling off the same feat in the Bundesliga, having scored against 21 of the 22 teams he has faced for Bayern Munich, with only Schalke escaping him after one meeting.

Haaland, however, is still some way off the Premier League record for the most different opponents scored against.

Frank Lampard leads the way with 39, followed by Andrew Cole on 38, while Jermain Defoe and all-time top scorer Alan Shearer both scored against 37 different teams.

Haaland’s Premier League goals vs opponents:
 

11 Goals: West Ham (8 games)
10 Goals: Crystal Palace (6 games), Wolverhampton Wanderers (7 games)
9 Goals: Manchester United (8 games)
8 Goals: Fulham (8 games)
7 Goals: Everton (6 games), Brighton & Hove Albion (7 games)
6 Goals: Arsenal (8 games)
5 Goals: Burnley (4 games), Brentford (7 games), Nottingham Forest (8 games)
4 Goals: Ipswich Town (2 games), Southampton (4 games), Chelsea (8 games), Tottenham Hotspur (8 games), Bournemouth (9 games)
3 Goals: Leicester City (2 games), Liverpool (6 games)
2 Goals: Leeds United (3 games)
1 Goal: Sheffield United (1 game), Luton Town (1 game), Coventry City (1 game), Sunderland (3 games), Aston Villa (5 games), Newcastle United (7 games)