Erling Haaland with Premier League record at Manchester City

MManchester City are back at the top of the table in England and Erling Haaland is already the record goalscorer in the Premier League with 35 goals before the season finale. Haaland scored his 35th goal in the English elite league in the 33rd game in a 3-0 (0-0) win against West Ham United on Wednesday – no player has ever done that before. The record was 34 goals scored by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer.

“He is unbelievable. He’s only 22 – and still has five games ahead of him,” said Haaland’s coach Pep Guardiola. The Norwegian striker replaced Cole (1993/94) and Shearer (1994/95) as previous record holders. “We expected him to score goals, but that he would break Cole and Shearer’s records…” England football icon Gary Lineker commented on the historic Haaland performance on Twitter with the words: “That’s crazy.” And the league too congratulated the former Dortmunder. “My thoughts are with Alan Shearer at this difficult time,” Lineker said wryly.

City again ahead of Arsenal in Premier League

With a clear victory in the catch-up game against West Ham United, Guardiola’s team overtook Arsenal again and, as leaders, now have a point ahead of the team from London. The Bayern conqueror in the Champions League has also played one game less than the challenger.

Dutchman Nathan Aké (50th), Haaland (70th) and Phil Foden (85th) scored the goals for the hosts. Arsenal FC temporarily ousted the Cityzens from the top spot with a 3-1 win against Chelsea on Tuesday evening.

Liverpool FC came to a home win against Fulham FC. Mohamed Salah (39th penalty) scored the goal in the 1-0 (1-0) win. Liverpool are now just four points away from fourth-placed Manchester United.

For coach Jürgen Klopp from FC Liverpool, it could have been the last game on the bench for the time being because of his referee criticism after the 4-3 home win against Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday. As a repeat offender, he faces a hefty fine or even a ban. Klopp has until Friday to present his view of things in a statement to the English Football Association FA.