How did Man City become 'Haaland's team'?

By beating Brentford on Sunday night, Pep Guardiola reached the milestone of 250 wins in the Premier League, becoming the fastest manager in history to reach this number, in just 349 matches. For this, the Spanish strategist must certainly thank Erling Haaland.

At Brentford Community Stadium, Pep's Man City dominated the game and had 70% of the ball. Unfortunately, Tijjani Reijnders, Phil Foden and others squandered numerous chances to not create a big win. However, they still got 3 points with Haaland's only goal.

It was a goal that was typical of the Norwegian striker. He quickly spotted the opportunity when teammate Josko Gvardiol had the ball deep in his own half, then started to break away to receive a long pass. Sepp van den Berg, Brentford's 1.93m giant defender, did everything he could to stop Haaland, but to no avail. He pushed his opponent back, then stepped forward and pressed his face, blocking the ball before unleashing a hammer shot into the near corner.

Sepp van den Berg was powerless to stop Erling Haaland.

"For me, this goal was really top and among my best goals, because the way I beat Van den Berg, who kept putting pressure on me, it boosted my motivation to win," Haaland said after the match.

Another reason behind Haaland's incredible form is his nine-month-old son. "Being a father makes me even more excited because I have a completely relaxing time at home and away from football. Then I come back on the pitch and focus my mind and energy on scoring goals," he shared.

The 25-year-old striker is known for his powerful style, but this season he feels even more energetic and explosive. Since the beginning of the season, Haaland has scored 18 goals for Man City and the Norwegian national team, and scored in 9 consecutive matches in all competitions for both teams. In the Premier League alone, his goals have covered up Man City's shortcomings, helping them rise to 5th place with 13 points, only 3 points behind the leader Arsenal.

Pep used to mock Tottenham as "Harry Kane's team", and now others can say that Man City is Haaland's team. His goals account for 60% of The Citizens' goals in the Premier League (9/15), 75% in the Champions League (3/4). Every match Haaland scores, Man City gets a point.

Not only does the 27-year-old play a key role for the Manchester club, he also has an impact on the English top flight. According to former defender Jamie Carragher, Haaland is undoubtedly "the greatest striker to ever play in the Premier League". "He is on a completely different level to Aguero, as well as other famous strikers in the past, when he shows a style of scoring goals that has never been seen before," Carragher commented.

By defeating Brentford Community Stadium, Haaland has now scored in 22 of the 23 Premier League stadiums he has played in, the highest rate in the history of the competition. With 94 goals in 104 games, the Norwegian striker is almost certain to break Alan Shearer's record, who reached 100 Premier League goals fastest (after 124 games).

Shearer is also the league's all-time leading scorer with 260 goals in 441 games (an average of 0.59 goals per game). With an average of 0.9 goals per game, Haaland can definitely do more. Remember, he signed a super-long contract with Man City to have more time to break old milestones and set new records.

Of course, for Pep, as long as Man City continue to win, he won't mind being considered "Haaland's team".