Norwegian wonderkid Haaland nets goals, records for Manchester City

By Yunus Kaymaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - Norwegian wunderkind Erling Haaland has been one of Manchester City's trump cards as he has been hitting all cylinders in the offense this season, breaking several long-standing records.

Under the helm of Pep Guardiola, Manchester City scored 40 goals in 11 competitive games, including the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League (UCL), as Haaland scored 19 goals.

The most recent goal fest of Manchester City was against FC Copenhagen, as they tasted a 5-0 Champions League win, with two goals coming from Haaland.

The 22-year-old netted 28 goals in 22 appearances in the UCL so far, a goals-per-game record of 1.27. This average is better than 98 teams in the Champions League event.

Haaland scored six goals in eight games for Salzburg, 15 goals in 13 matches for Borussia Dortmund, and five goals in three matches for Manchester City.

Haaland's Champions League week three double over FC Copenhagen made it five goals in this season's UCL, taking him above Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Robert Lewandowski, who have 27 goals.

Haaland's teammate Jack Grealish heaped praise on Haaland after his superb performance resulted in an impressive 5-0 win over the Danish football club, saying, " It's unbelievable. I have never witnessed anything like it in my life."

"For the first or second goal, I was just laughing because he is always there and is always finishing it," he added after the victory.

- Haaland writes his name in gold letters in England football history

Haaland became the third player to score in each of his first three Champions League appearances for an English club after Moroccan forward Marouane Chamakh of Arsenal and Spanish striker Ferran Torres of Manchester City.

The Norwegian star has faced 13 different sides in the Champions League and netted against 11 of them, including a hat-trick against Besiktas.

Meanwhile, Haaland also converted all three Champions League penalties.