On this day (12 December) in 1970 a hat-trick from Francis Lee was City’s last hat-trick in a Manchester derby until Haaland and Foden in October 2022! The 1970 game also saw a goal from Mike Doyle to gave City a comfortable 4-1 victory over Manchester United before an Old Trafford crowd of 52,636. That victory meant City had won 5 and only dropped 4 points in 8 consecutive League derby meetings with the Reds. There was also a devastating injury to Glyn Pardoe (more on that in another post!). Here is the background, report and verdict of that game…
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Now that Erling Haaland has joined an exclusive group of Manchester City players who have scored 100 League goals for the club I thought I’d post a table of all those players. I’ve also listed them in a goals per game format (I’d love to do goals per minutes but we simply don’t have that information for all players). Here goes…
The goals per game ratios for all Manchester City players who have scored 100 league goals or more…
Goals
First Name
Surname
Goals Per Game
Total League Appearances
100
Erling
Haaland
0.9009
111
184
Sergio
Aguero
0.6691
275
126
Billy
Gillespie
0.5780
218
120
Horace
Barnes
0.5530
217
122
Tommy
Browell
0.5495
222
116
Frank
Roberts
0.5370
216
158
Tommy
Johnson
0.4817
328
112
Francis
Lee
0.4498
249
110
Fred
Tilson
0.4472
246
142
Joe
Hayes
0.4290
331
107
Alec
Herd
0.4163
257
146
Billy
Meredith
0.3989
366
158
Eric
Brook
0.3511
450
117
Colin
Bell
0.2970
394
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It doesn’t feel that long ago since I did something like this for Sergio Aguero and I honestly felt it would be some time before the opportunity came again but then Erling Haaland arrived at Manchester City. So much was rightly made of Erling scoring his 100th Premier League goal last night that I thought I’d post a comparison between him and all other players who have netted 100 Premier League goals. Instead of totals though I decided to focus on the goals per game ratio and so here is a list of the top 25 goals per game ratios of PL players who have netted 100 goals or more. There are some amazing players on this list but significantly Haaland tops that list by some distance. It’s also gratifying to see that Aguero is third on the list.
The top 25 goals per game ratios for all PL players who have scored 100 goals or more… (note: some sources incorrectly put Kane above Aguero)
Goals
First Name
Surname
Goals Per Game
Total PL Appearances
100
Erling
Haaland
0.9009
111
175
Thierry
Henry
0.6783
258
184
Sergio
Aguero
0.6691
275
213
Harry
Kane
0.6656
320
190
Mo
Salah
0.6070
313
260
Alan
Shearer
0.5896
441
113
Ian
Wright
0.5305
213
144
Robin
van Persie
0.5143
280
127
Jimmy
Floyd Hasselbank
0.4739
268
150
Michael
Owen
0.4601
326
187
Andy
Cole
0.4517
414
103
Cristiano
Ronaldo
0.4364
236
121
Romelu
Lukaku
0.4353
278
163
Robbie
Fowler
0.4301
379
149
Les
Ferdinand
0.4245
351
145
Jamie
Vardy
0.4240
342
208
Wayne
Rooney
0.4236
491
111
Sadio
Mane
0.4221
263
104
Didier
Drogba
0.4094
254
106
Darren
Bent
0.3841
276
127
Son
Heung-min
0.3814
333
100
Matt
Le Tissier
0.3704
270
126
Robbie
Keane
0.3610
349
111
Dion
Dublin
0.3558
312
146
Teddy
Sheringham
0.3493
418
Watch this space for other comparisons over the coming weeks.
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It’s worth reminding ourseleves of this game from 12 November 2023 when Manchester City drew 4-4 at Chelsea. It was heralded as a great game by the media but for fans of the teams involved they tend to feel like opportunities lost or maybe great comebacks depending on which side you support. Immediately after the game in 2023 I was asked when City’s previous 4-4 draw was and I spent a few minutes thinking ‘I’ve never seen one before involving City, or have I?’ So, I then started to scour the material in my collection and was somewhat surprised to find it was against Grimsby in September 1950! Certainly many, many years before I was born.
My favourite goal in that match at Chelsea was the one Haaland scored with his er… um… er… shorts area. The City scorers were: Haaland (25 minutes pen, 47 minutes), Akanji (45+1 minutes), Rodri (86 minutes) and for Chelsea (including two City old boys): Thiago Silva (29 minutes), Sterling (37 minutes), Jackson (67 minutes), Palmer (90+5minutes pen).
Incredibly that game wasn’t the first time City had drawn 4-4 at Chelsea and, coincidentally I’d tweeted about this before the 2023 match. I never expected history to repeat itself. You can read about the earlier match via the link below. Incidentally, the game was in 1936-37 and City won the title that year – as they did in 2023-24!
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On this day (7 November) in 2023 Manchester City defeated Young Boys 3-0 in the UEFA Champions League. This was recorded as City’s 100th win in major European competitions (don’t get me started on whether a win on penalties is counted as a win in sequence records!) and extended the club’s unbeaten run in Europe to 18 matches (this was a new record for English teams).
Today (14 May) in 2023 goals from Ilkay Gundogan (2) and Erling Haaland gave City a 3-0 win at Goodison Park and left Manchester’s Blues within one win of sealing a third consecutive Premier League title. This was Gundogan’s 300th appearance for City. It was also City’s 11th straight Premier League win. Highlights here:
On this day (30 April) in 2023 goals from Haaland (his 50th of the season – see image) and Alvarez gave City a 2-1 victory at Fulham. You can watch highlights here:
On this day (27 February) in 2024 Erling Haaland scored five against Luton Town in the FA Cup. On a night when memories of Denis Law scoring six in the FA Cup against Luton (and then getting them all wiped from the records as the game was abandoned) it was a wonderful performance, coming in Manchester City’s 6-2 victory.
When asked about the goals afterwards City manager Pep Guardiola discussed both Haaland’s scoring and the influence of Kevin De Bruyne too: ‘Erling is on fire and Kevin… the connection was perfect… Kevin needs players like Erling and Erling needs players like Kevin. Erling needs a guy with the vision, the quality, the generosity. Kevin is the less selfish player in front of goal. Kevin needs the movement from Erling. We know how aggressive they are.’
By this time De Bruyne had made nine assists in his previous five FA Cup games for De Bruyne. Surprisingly, one more than he managed in his first 23 appearances for City in the competition but he’d been waiting for a player like Haaland to come along for some time. De Bruyne was making similar moves and passes but the end product had not been there consistently prior to Haaland’s arrival.
Talking of De Bruyne, Haaland commented: ‘Kevin De Bruyne is massive. He is doing what he is best at. It’s a pleasure playing with him. We know what we both want from each other. It clicks well. He is a smart player and I like to play with him.’
Haaland became the 3rd Manchester City player to score 5 in a men’s FA Cup (and it still stands) game. Earlier players who achieved this feat are Frank Roberts & Bobby Marshall. Here’s Roberts’ game (there’s film of that match in 1926 via the link):
For Haaland there were a few records/points to note:
He became the first player to score five or more in the FA Cup (1st round onwards) since Duane Darby scored 6 for Hull v Whitby in 1996-97.
He was the first to score five or more for a top-flight club in the FA Cup since George Best scored 6 for United v Northampton in 1970.
This was the second time Haaland has scored five goals in a game in his senior career, previously doing so for City against RB Leipzig in the Champions League in March 2023.
Since his debut for City in July 2022, Haaland had scored 79 goals in 83 games in all comps, 30 more than any other Premier League player in the that time (Salah 49) after that Luton game.
He became the first to score five against Luton for City since Denis Law in 1961 when Law scored 6 but all were wiped from the records as the game was abandoned. See:
I’ve received this wonderful news about Erling Haaland…
Erling Haaland has signed a 10-year contract that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2034
The Norwegian striker has enjoyed a remarkable two-and-a-half seasons since joining the Club in 2022, scoring 111 goals in just 125 games
The 24-year-old played a critical role in the Club’s Treble-winning season and in securing an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title Manchester City is delighted to announce that Erling Haaland has signed a new 10-year contract with the Club.
The Norwegian international has signed until the summer of 2034, extending his previous contract by seven years and committing the next decade of his career to the Club.
One of the finest strikers operating in the global game, the 24-year-old has enjoyed an extraordinary two-and-a-half seasons since moving to the Etihad Stadium.
During his maiden campaign, Haaland proved one of the key catalysts in City’s historic Treble triumph, as Pep Guardiola’s side secured the Premier League, FA Cup and a first UEFA Champions League.
The 24-year-old received widespread recognition for his role that season, receiving the prestigious PFA, Football Writers’ Association and Premier League Player of the Year awards, amongst others. His 52 goals in all competitions were more than any other striker in Europe that season and the greatest-ever tally by a Premier League player. He also broke the long-standing Premier League record for the most goals scored in a single season [36].
A second successive Premier League Golden Boot followed in 2023/24 as City became the first English men’s team to ever win four consecutive top-flight titles. Despite being sidelined by injury for almost two months, Haaland scored 38 goals in 45 appearances.
The Nordic striker has continued his goal-scoring exploits during the 2024/25 season with a further 21 goals to date contributing to a total of 111 goals in 125 games.
Haaland said: “I am really happy to have signed my new contract and to be able to look forward to spending even more time at this great Club.
“Manchester City is a special Club, full of fantastic people with amazing supporters and it’s the type of environment that helps bring the best out of everybody.“I also want to thank Pep, his coaching staff, my teammates and everyone at the Club as they have all helped me so much in the past couple of years. They have made this such a special place to be and now I am City no matter what.
“Now I want to keep developing, keep working to get better and look to do my best to try and help us achieve more success going forward.”
Director of Football Txiki Begiristain added: “Everyone at the Club is absolutely delighted that Erling has signed his new contract. The fact he is signed for so long demonstrates our commitment to him as a player, and his love of this club.
“He has made an incredible impact already in his time here and his amazing numbers and records speak for themselves.
“But in addition to his outstanding natural talent and ability, Erling’s dedication, professionalism, humility and desire to keep getting better sum up what we all strive to achieve at Manchester City.
“He is one of the finest strikers in world football, but Erling is still very young and will only continue to improve working under Pep and his coaching team. If he works hard, which I know he will, he will create an incredible legacy at this football club.
“Now he can focus on his game and continuing to play a huge part in helping us try to achieve even more success.”
If you enjoy all the free material on my website and would like to support my research and keep this website going (but don’t want to subscribe) then why not make a one-time donation (or buy me a coffee). All support for my research is valued and welcome. It allows me to keep some free material available for all. Thanks.
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