Records in big danger as Haaland stars again
BACK in the early 1990s, there was an exhibition of football memorabilia at Liverpool Town Hall. The star exhibit was a weathered and worn wooden shield, which was decorated with a series of silver plaques.
People queued up to have their picture taken with it because it felt like a precious memento of something that could never, ever be repeated. I still have mine buried in a drawer.
Each of the silver plaques on that shield represented a goal scored by Dixie Dean in Everton’s 1927-28 season. Dean notched 60 goals in that campaign, a total that for a long time has seemed other-worldly.
Since the Second World War, Jimmy Greaves got the closest to matching it when he scored 41 for Chelsea in their 1960-61 season. Early in the Premier League era, Andy Cole and Alan Shearer both managed 34 in a league campaign.
But now we are starting to wonder whether we may have to adjust our horizons.
There is a phenomenon amongst us and after Erling Haaland scored his 11th goal in the seven league games of his Manchester City career at Molineux, sending them top of the table in the process, we now know all manner of records may be under threat. City will drop back to second if Arsenal win at Brentford today, but it looks more and more likely they will retain their title at a canter.
Haaland deserves all the headlines for his relentless goalscoring and if his strike at Wolves was not as spectacular as the flying kung-fu kick which won City’s Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund in the week, it was still testament to his instinct for an opening and his surging confidence.
Without him, City’s rivals have had a chance. With him leading the attack, the idea of anyone overhauling them seems like a distant prospect.
Haaland is still, in many ways, the icing on the cake. De Bruyne was magnificent again against Wolves, creating two of his side’s goals, constantly prompting team-mates and testing the opposition defence.
Jack Grealish, still much maligned, was not far behind him. It was the former Aston Villa player who drew the rash, high first-half challenge from Nathan Collins that earned the defender a red card and ended any faint prospect of a Wolves fightback.
City manager Pep Guardiola publicly defended Grealish ahead of the game and reiterated his faith in the midfielder’s ability.
He said: ‘They don’t have to say thank you. I said to them many times they are here because I trust them unconditionally, all of them. Jack is not an exception. He scored a goal and it was a good performance. I am happy for him, for the victory.’
City were ahead in 55 seconds. It was a goal beautifully conceived and expertly executed. De Bruyne played a slick pass out wide to Phil Foden on the right. He held the ball up and waited for the Belgian to skip past him on the overlap.
At just the right time and with just the right weight, Foden backheeled the ball into De Bruyne’s path. He curled it across the face of goal and Grealish prodded it past Jose Sa.
Haaland had only touched the ball three times when he collected a pass with his back to goal midway inside the Wolves half in the 16th minute. He turned and ran at Max Kilman, who was at sixes and sevens, trying to anticipate what the Norwegian would do as he ran at him.
Haaland got to the edge of the area, pushed the ball on to his right foot and hit a bobbling shot that eluded Sa’ dive. It was his 11th goal in his seventh league game for City and his 14th in all competitions. For the moment, at least, he looks unstoppable.
Things got worse for Wolves 12 minutes before half-time when Joao Cancelo drifted a ball down the left wing for Grealish, who let it bounce but as he tried to take it on, Collins attacked the ball. It bounced high and the Wolves defender’s challenge was even higher.
His studs connected with Grealish’s hip and as the England man collapsed to the ground in agony, referee Anthony Taylor brandished the red card immediately.
A few minutes later, City proved again that if you offer them reprieves, they seize them with both hands.
This time, Haaland acted as provider. Fed the ball by De Bruyne, he checked his run and waited for the City playmaker’s overlap. De Bruyne ran on to the ball and drilled it across the box where Foden got to it first and flicked it beyond Sa with a clever flourish of his right boot.
‘Erling continues to score goals, that’s top,’ beamed Guardiola. ‘But the other ones need to have the desire, the hunger and the mentality to score goals as well.’