Erling Haaland created Premier League history at Elland Road on Wednesday. With his brace against Leeds United in Manchester City‘s 3-1 win, he reached a tally of 20 League goals this season from 14 matches, which made him the fastest in league history to score 20 goals.
Before him, the record was held by former Sunderland forward Kevin Phillips who scored 20 goals from 21 matches in the 1999-2000 Premier League season.
As the 23-year-old celebrates the new record with his father Alfie, who was at Elland Road watching him play, here’s a look at five players with the shortest 20-goal run in the Premier League.
Fastest 20-goal stints in Premier League:
1. Erling Haaland, 14 matches
Haaland signed for Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund, the German club. Along with 20 goals in the Premier League, he has also scored 5 in the UEFA Champions League. He is already short of just three goals from last season’s highest number of goals by a player. He is the favorite to win the golden boot in 2022-23.
2. Kevin Phillips, 21 matches
Former English professional player Phillips is now South Shields’ manager in the NPL Premier Division. He scored 30 goals for Sunderland during the 1999–2000 Premier League season with Sunderland, which earned him the European Golden Shoe. He is still the only Englishman to have received the honor.
3. Fernando Torres, 27 matches
Fernando Torres is a former striker who currently manages the Spanish national team. He now serves as Atlético Madrid Juvenil A’s manager. On August 11, 2007, Torres made his professional debut in the Premier League for Liverpool. In the competition for the Premier League’s golden boot in that season, he and Emmanuel Adebayor finished tied in second place.
4. Alan Shearer, 29 matches
An ex-manager and striker who now works as a football analyst in England is named Alan Shearer. He is the Premier League’s record goalscorer with 260 goals and is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in league history. One of the initial two inductees into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021 was Shearer.
5. Sergio Aguero, 30 matches
Sergio Aguero, also known as Kun, is a former striker for Argentina’s national team. During his ten-year stint with Manchester City, he was regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premier League history. With 12 hat tricks in the Premier League, he is the league’s all-time leading scorer for City.
