Erling Haaland’s latest scoring burst for Manchester City pushed several records, as West Ham suffered a 3-0 defeat. The striker struck twice and supplied an assist, moving past 200 goal involvements in Europe’s
top five leagues and prompting team-mate Josko Gvardiol to urge Haaland to maintain the relentless scoring run.
Haaland reached 201 combined goals and assists in Europe’s leading competitions after just 165 matches for Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City. That rate surpassed both Kylian Mbappe, who required 194 games, and Lionel Messi, who reached the same landmark in 195 appearances across those leagues.
The brace against West Ham continued a prolific 2025-26 campaign for Haaland, who moved to 19 goals for the season. That total is the joint-highest before Christmas in a Premier League season, alongside Andrew Cole’s 1993-94 figure, Kevin Phillips’ 1999-00 effort and Luis Suarez’s 2013-14 return.
Haaland’s productivity was not limited to goals in the win over West Ham, as the striker also set up Tijjani Reijnders’ first-half strike. That contribution meant Haaland finished the match with three goal involvements, marking the 14th Premier League game in which the Norwegian registered at least three direct contributions.
In league play this season, Haaland opened the scoring in 10 different matches. That number matched Sergio Aguero’s club record for Manchester City in a single Premier League campaign, first set in 2014-15. Haaland’s habit of striking first continued to shape matches for Manchester City across domestic fixtures.
Haaland also joined exclusive company with the rate of goals against specific opponents. The Manchester City forward became only the third player to hit at least 10 Premier League goals in fewer than 10 outings against two separate clubs, West Ham and Wolves, matching the feats of Alan Shearer and Sergio Aguero.
Across all competitions for club and country in 2025-26, Haaland has now scored 38 times. The striker’s overall Premier League tally rose to 104 goals, moving beyond Cristiano Ronaldo’s total of 103 in the competition’s all-time list and underlining Haaland’s rapid accumulation of records.
Asked by Manchester City’s media channels if anything more could be said about Haaland’s form, Gvardiol offered a playful response before praising the forward’s mindset. "Good question, eh?! All I can say is that I'm happy for him. I wish him just to keep going. For him, I think it's never enough. Obviously, he wants to score at least five goals every game. We are here to support him; we are more than happy to have him in the team. Good player, as a friend as well. So, I wish him all the best and keep going, Erling!"
Across the 3-0 win and the wider campaign, Haaland’s influence for Manchester City remained decisive, with goals, assists and early strikes driving key results, while historical comparisons with Mbappe, Messi, Aguero, Shearer, Cole, Phillips, Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo highlighted how the striker’s scoring rate continued to stand among the elite.
