Erling Haaland breaks 13-year-long record held by Wayne Rooney after scoring twice in first half against Brentford

Erling Haaland became the player with the most goals scored after the first four matches in the Premier League following his first-half brace against Brentford on Saturday (September 14). With nine goals in the first four matches, the Norwegian broke a 13-year-old record by Manchester United's Wayne Rooney in the 2011-12 season where he had scored eight.

The travelers got an early lead at the Etihad courtesy of Yoane Wissa (1'), but Haaland pulled the tie back in favor of Manchester City with his two quickfire goals in the 19th and 32nd minutes.

Manchester City also went 1-0 behind in their second league game against Ipswich Town. However, they came from behind to register a thumping 4-1 win, with Haaland bagging a hattrick (12', 16', 88').

The Norwegian has already scored hattricks in Manchester City's last two Premier League matches. With one more goal against Brentford tonight, he will be the first player to bag a hattrick of hattricks in the Premier League since Liverpool's Jack Balmer in 1946.

The 24-year-old has been firing on all cylinders ever since joining Pep Guardiola's side in the summer of 2022 from Borussia Dortmund. In 103 games, he has scored a whopping 99 goals and bagged 14 assists, resulting in a G/A ratio of 1.09 per game.

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Erling Haaland's stats at 24 compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala 2015 - Source: Getty

Since joining Pep Guardiola's side, Erling Haaland has developed a penchant for breaking goalscoring records every time he steps on the field. The same could be said about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo throughout their illustrious careers.

Therefore, a comparison between Erling Haaland's career stats at 24 with those of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi becomes an interesting exercise.

At 24, Lionel Messi had 197 goals in 326 games while Cristiano Ronaldo recorded 132 goals in 362 appearances for club and country. However, Haaland outshines both the greats with a staggering 264 goals in 315 games for both club and country.

In an interview (via Eurosport), Pep Guardiola raved about the Norwegian's prowess in front of goal, inferring that he could compete with both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

“He did it in Salzburg and in Germany; the numbers are ridiculous. He can compete in terms of goals with Cristiano and Messi. The numbers are unbelievable at his age," Guardiola said.

Erling Haaland's next adventure will mark the start of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 campaign for the Manchester side. They will face Inter Milan at home on September 18.