“That Zlatan-like goal, and Ronaldo is in there too” – Manchester United legend says ‘dangerous’ Erling Haaland is like many ‘top strikers’ in one
Former Manchester United and Manchester City goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel reckons Erling Haaland is a mix of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and many other football stars.
The Norwegian continued his blistering exploits with another stunning hat-trick on Sunday (October 2) in City's 6-3 hammering of the Red Devils in the Manchester derby.
It was his third Premier League hat-trick in a row at the Etihad. Haaland has now brought his league tally to 14 goals in just eight games, at least twice more than any other player in the division.
ERLING HAALAND HAS THREE HAT TRICKS IN HIS LAST THREE PL GAMES AT THE ETIHAD 🤯🤯🤯 https://t.co/nWkYY8b7Di
Schmeichel, who made over 300 appearances in the English top flight, lavished praise on the 23-year-old, saying he's a combination of many footballing greats. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said (via BBC):
"When you look at Haaland, you see different players. That Zlatan-like goal, and Ronaldo is in there too. You see top, top strikers in one. That is why he is so dangerous. He has the luxury of seeing many top strikers, and they are all put into one player."
Haaland opened his scoring against United with a solid header before making two powerful, close-range finishes in either half to complete his treble. In the process, he became the first player in to score three consecutive Premier League hat-tricks at home and the quickest player to reach three league trebles.
Signed on a £51.2 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund, the Norwegian international has already taken England by storm. He's already leading the race for the domestic Golden Boot by a healthy margin, and there seems to be no stopping him right now.
Erling Haaland emerging as runaway favourite to win Premier League Golden Boot
Erling Haaland is well clear in the galscoring charts, and it's a no-brainer that he's already a huge favourite to win the Premier League Golden Boot.
Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur is second in the standings with seven goals, while Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic has netted six times.
Erling Haaland (14) already has twice as many Premier League goals as the next highest scorer Harry Kane (7).
Eyes on the prize 👀 https://t.co/5cV8OWtWjM
Last season's winners, Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min have fallen by the way side this time around, scoring just two and three goals respectively.
The Egyptian ace is on a barren run of four games, while Son netted a hat-trick against Leicester City last month before firing a blank in his next appearance. That leaves Erling Haaland in a league of his own, and it will take something remarkable to stop him from getting his hands on the top-scorer award.