Haaland smashes Rooney’s Premier League record

Manchester City star Erling Haaland continued his prolific start to the new season by breaking a Premier League record with a goal against Brentford.

Haaland scored twice for City in the first half of their game against Brentford to continue his blistering start to the new season.

The Norwegian scored two goals in quick succession to give City a 2-1 lead going into half-time after they had conceded inside 22 seconds. The goals proved additionally poignant for Haaland after he dealt with the death of a close friend in midweek.

Haaland has scored all but two of City’s Premier League goals this season as Pep Guardiola’s side look to continue their perfect start to the new season.

Rooney, meanwhile scored 27 times in the 2011-12 season when he set the previous record, which was his most prolific campaign of his career.

This is Haaland’s strongest start to any of his three seasons at City as he needed nine Premier League games to score his ninth goal last year.

In his debut campaign, Haaland took just five games to get his ninth goal but he has achieved the feat at a faster rate this time around. The 24-year-old has now netted more Premier League goals than Eric Cantona and Luis Suarez, with his 71st strike coming in his 70th appearance.

City will be hoping Haaland can carry his Premier League form into their match against Inter in the Champions League next week. Guardiola’s men will then face a potential early title clash with Arsenal next week, with the Gunners desperate to keep Haaland quiet despite a number of injuries to some key players.