Manchester City striker Erling Haaland made history on Wednesday evening after scoring in the club’s 3-0 win over West Ham at Etihad Stadium. The Norwegian scored the second goal of the night, which was his 35th league goal of the season.

That goal means that he has now set a new league record for the most goals scored in a single Premier League season Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole’s previous records.

The Norwegian was given a guard of honour after the game as Manchester City pipped Arsenal to return to the top of the table despite having played a game less. After a goalless first half, Nathan Ake opened the scoring in the 50th minute before Haaland’s goal 20 minutes later, while Phil Foden added a third in the final ten minutes.

It’s a special night and a special moment. I’m really happy and proud. I don’t know what else to say. I knew about the record, of course, but we tried to create chances to score, and it wasn’t easy because they wanted to defend. We struggled in the first half, but they eventually came. A treble is the most important thing. Everyone knows it’s possible, but we can’t think of the FA Cup final now. We just have to think of Leeds. Every one of the last nine games now is a cup final.” Haaland said.

Manchester City’s next two games include a Premier League fixture against Leeds United at Etihad on Saturday before the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final clash against Real Madrid next week.

In the other game played at Anfield stadium, Mohamed Salah’s penalty helped Liverpool beat Fulham 1-0, while Brighton will host Manchester United at AmEx stadium in a repeat of the FA Cup semi-final clash.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu