Haaland breaks another record and KDB matches Stevie G: 7 bonkers stats from Wolves 0-3 Man City
Manchester City moved to the top of the Premier League table thanks to their 3-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
The damage for Man City was done in the first half thanks to goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland, and Wolves’ hopes of a comeback were hampered by Nathan Collins’ red card for a high and dangerous tackle on Grealish.
And Phil Foden completed the scoring in the second half, after Wolves had looked brighter in attack, condemning the hosts to their third defeat of the season. A fun opener for Saturday, there were a number of bonkers stats to come from Man City’s win, and we’ve taken a look at some of them.
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This is Haaland’s world
It feels like there isn’t a day goes by that Erling Haaland doesn’t break a record. Historic goalscorers hate him and they are in danger of being forgotten, especially Mick Quinn who had previously had the best goalscoring start to life as a Premier League player.
In getting Man City’s second at Molineux Haaland took his tally for the season to 11 in the Premier League, the most a player has scored after just seven games. In fact, it tied three players’ records of 11 goals after their first 10 games in the Premier League.
The aforementioned Quinn, Papiss Cisse and Diego Costa all scored 11 goals in their opening 10 Premier League matches, which means Haaland has three games to score one more goal to erase them from the history books. And they all know he’ll probably do it.
“He’s got the ability to break records because he’s in a team as well that’s absolutely dominating,” Rio Ferdinand said to BT Sport.
“He’s getting minimum one chance a half it seems, good chances not talking half chances. He’s a fantastic footballer and the overriding fact is he’s got a hunger and desire to go out there and want to do that.”
Erling Haaland has equalled the record for most Premier League goals scored after a player's first 10 appearances in the competition…
…after seven games. 😂 pic.twitter.com/ahGhPwVTFQ
— Squawka (@Squawka) September 17, 2022
King of (on) the road
Oh what’s that? You want another record broken by Haaland? Well here you go.
Haaland has been terrorising defences home and away so far this season with only Bournemouth preventing him from scoring in competitive fixtures. Prior to Saturday’s game, Haaland has always left an away trip with something, finding the net against West Ham United (twice), Newcastle United and Aston Villa.
No player in Premier League history had scored in his first four away games in the competition, but Haaland laughed at that record as he beat Jose Sa from outside the area. The goal was also Haaland’s 100th across all competitions since leaving Red Bull Salzburg for Borussia Dortmund in 2020, in 99 games.
Is there anything he can’t do?
One last Haaland stat to just sum up how ridiculous he is as a player. If he was a gun on an FPS game, players would be calling for him to be nerfed for being too overpowered.
In his 11 goals in the Premier League so far, Haaland has shown he can do it all. He’s scored with his right foot, with his left and his head. He’s also scored from inside the six-yard box, inside the (rest of the) penalty area and outside the box, ticking off the latter with his strike against Wolves.
In his first seven Premier League games, Erling Haaland has scored the following types of goal:
â—‰ Right foot
â—‰ Left foot
â—‰ Headerâ—‰ Inside the six-yard box
â—‰ Inside the penalty area
◉ Outside the penalty area 🆕Is there anything he can't do?! 😂 pic.twitter.com/eTCGaOptQk
— Squawka (@Squawka) September 17, 2022
He’s also scored two hat-tricks, of course, and finishes in ways that no normal footballer would even think of attempting. What is his weakness?
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De Bruyne equals Gerrard
But it wasn’t just the Haaland show.
Kevin De Bruyne was the bane of Wolves last season, scoring four in a 5-1 win for Man City at Molineux back in May, a key victory en route to winning the title. Adding two assists, De Bruyne has now been directly involved in more Premier League goals at Molineux in 2022 than any other player. And that’s including Wolves’ own players.
But more significantly, De Bruyne has now recorded 92 assists in the Premier League, moving him joint-seventh in the overall rankings alongside Steven Gerrard. But while the Liverpool legend took 504 games to finish on that tally, De Bruyne has equalled him in just 217.
Oh, and De Bruyne has also been directly involved in 150 Premier League goals, truly cementing himself as one of the best players in the division’s history.
Kevin De Bruyne in the Premier League this season:
â—‰ Most assists
â—‰ Most chances createdKDBrilliantâ„¢ pic.twitter.com/USvNWRYhq5
— Squawka (@Squawka) September 17, 2022
The Portuguese Premier League
In the past we’ve heard a lot about full-foreign XIs and squads, and the danger it poses for the English national team. But what about the positive impact it could have for others?
Of the 22 starting players at Molineux on Saturday afternoon, an incredible 10 were Portuguese, seven of those came from Wolves and a further three from Man City. This is a new record for the most starters from a specific non-English nation in the competition.
For the curious, there were four English starters, the second-most represented nation.
Anthony Taylor loves a card
Man City were already in control of the game when Collins was sent off for his challenge on Grealish, but it certainly made it harder for Wolves. Anthony Taylor was very quick to brandish the red card after the tackle and there was no doubt that it was the right decision, with any VAR review taking very little time.
The red card was the third Taylor has shown in his six Premier League matches this season, more than any other referee. But remarkably it was the first he has shown to a player. Taylor’s first two red cards of the season were for Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel for their coming together in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge last month, a feisty affair that hit the headlines for more than one reason.
Nathan Collins’ forgettable year
We stay with Collins for this final point as the Irishman is now the only player to be sent off twice in the Premier League in 2022, also shown a straight red card in Burnley’s 2-0 defeat to Brentford back in March.
Nathan Collins vs. Manchester City. 🥋 pic.twitter.com/XfoB4ZPhir
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) September 17, 2022
