The clock started ticking on Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record the moment Erling Haaland scored a double on debut against West Ham United in August 2022.
Haaland has some way to go until he reaches Shearer’s total of 260 but he has arrived at the first major milestone en route to supremacy, reaching 100 goals in the competition at a faster rate than Shearer — or anyone else.
After his first-half strike against Fulham this evening, it has taken him just 111 games to reach his century, breaking Shearer’s longstanding record of 124 games with 13 games to spare.
If we are being fussy, he should really have done it in 109 at St James’ Park, the home of the man whose numbers he is chasing down, or 110 against Leeds, the club of his birth city, but he squandered several sights at goal in both matches.
They were uncharacteristically rushed attempts for a player who by then had scored 14 Premier League goals this season. That was merely a blip on the path to breaking Shearer’s record, something only an injury or a drought of epic proportions could have prevent. For Shearer’s record to stay intact, Haaland would have needed to go without a Premier League goal until February 28, when City visit Elland Road.
These sort of runs simply do not happen in Haaland’s world. Normal service was resumed against Fulham as he shook off the yips and made it to 100 quicker than anyone else.
To mark the milestone, The Athletic has broken down the numbers behind the Manchester City striker’s remarkable feat.
Haaland scores against Chelsea in January 2025 (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
The goal against Fulham means that Haaland becomes just the 35th player to join the Premier League’s century club.
It draws him level with Matt Le Tissier whose 100 goals for Southampton spanned an entire decade between 1992 and 2002.
The Norwegian has reached this milestone in less than three-and-a-half years. In three goals’ time he will match Cristiano Ronaldo’s total (103). One more after that will equal ex-Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.
His goal against Fulham on Tuesday was his 43rd away from home in the Premier League. His scoring record is almost an even split between home and away with 57 coming at the Etihad Stadium.
Wolves are his most fruitful opponents with 10 goals against them, while West Ham’s London Stadium is his favourite destination with six goals in East London. Anfield remains the only Premier League ground he has played at and not scored.
Erling Haaland is particularly fond of scoring at London Stadium (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Haaland has converted 17 penalties and had 22 different players assist him, excluding the opposition who have been panicked into giving the ball to Haaland and been ruthlessly punished.
The most reliable creator has been Kevin De Bruyne, who assisted him 16 times. The Belgian had such a telepathic relationship with Haaland that they had three archetypical goals that were repeated over and again.
The slide rule passes for goals No 2 (above) and No 52. The by-line cut back, as seen against Spurs, for No 62. The curled cross to the back post for No 10 at Aston Villa and for No 12, when he scored with the iconic outstretched leg against Manchester United. With eight goals, he is already tied with Sergio Aguero and Wayne Rooney for the most Manchester derby goals in the Premier League era.
There has been one quadruple, seven hat-tricks and 17 doubles. And just five goals outside the box.
The variation of finishes. 71 with his trusty left foot, 11 with his weaker right side, one with another body part and 17 headers. The latter is an attribute he has got better at with memorable hang time against Wolves for goal 59 and Arsenal for No 82.
He has not just scored when City have been dominant either. No stat padding here. He has scored the winning goal 30 times and procured a game-state changing goal 45 times.
.@ErlingHaaland‘s record-breaking @PremierLeague goal against West Ham! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/dK2K5wAkDT
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 17, 2024
England captain Harry Kane is the player to have come closest to usurping Shearer.
He may well have arrived there had he stayed at Tottenham Hotspur as he only needs another 47 but he moved to Bayern Munich to pursue major trophies. At 32 years old he may well return to England in a bid to achieve that goal but Haaland, while some way back, is only 25.
And Haaland does not look to be heading anywhere soon having signed a new contract until 2034.
At a rate of a goal every 91 minutes, if Haaland continues at the same pace he would reach the record after 294 appearances. That is four-and-a-half seasons’ worth of games, suggesting a date of spring 2030.
Cherki KNEW Haaland was going to score 🤯 pic.twitter.com/9P0rBWNDs8
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 3, 2025
As another reminder of how abnormal Haaland’s scoring rate is, it took Shearer 441 appearances over a span of 14 years to reach those numbers. Yes, he was not at one dominant club in Manchester City but it is still remarkable how Haaland is outstripping the greatest finishers in the league’s history.
One of Haaland’s most spectacular goals came away at Southampton in April 2023 (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
“The guys who have been making numbers for a long time, not just one or two seasons, I always admire them because it means resilience and being there every season,” said Pep Guardiola.
“They don’t score goals for one season. They do it over a lot of seasons and that means being incredibly focused, professional and you have to love the game.
“You don’t have to know mathematics to realise that if he (Haaland) stays a long, long time and continues this average, he will be close to Harry Kane and close to Alan Shearer, that’s for sure.”
Declining season tallies of 36 (2022-23), 27 (2023-24) and 22 (2024-25) hinted at a potential levelling out of Haaland’s goalscoring. Perhaps the Premier League had adapted to Haaland, got smart to his movements and his instincts. Maybe he was reverting to more normal numbers.
A haul of 15 goals in 14 games this campaign is quite an emphatic response to the mere suggestion. He is on track to break his own single-season Premier League record — 36 goals in 35 games — set in his first campaign.
Haaland is now broadcasting his quest for greatness through his YouTube channel. It reached one million subscribers in its first 35 days of launch, underlining just how much of a phenomenon he has become.
He has his first century. Now he is on his way to his second. The odds suggest he may be the first man to reach three by the time he is finished with Premier League football.