Erling Haaland took his Premier League goal tally to 14 by putting Manchester United to the sword on Sunday.
Erling Haaland shares many of the same qualities as Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, according to Peter Schmeichel, who has described the Manchester City man as several top strikers “put into one player”.
Haaland produced an incredible display as City thrashed Manchester United in a 6-3 derby win on Sunday, scoring a hat-trick and setting up two goals for fellow hat-trick star Phil Foden.
The Norwegian – who scored 14 goals in his first eight Premier League games – has now scored a hat-trick in three consecutive domestic league games, becoming the first player to do so in the competition’s history.
After watching Haaland tear United apart at the Etihad Stadium, Schmeichel identified similarities between the 22-year-old and several notable legends.
“The biggest part of being a good striker is patience. I’ve played against some of the best strikers and when you lack that is when you really have to focus,” the former United and City goalkeeper told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“The Cristiano Ronaldos, the Filippo Inzaghis of this world – they disappear and then suddenly they get an opportunity.
“When you look at Haaland, you see different players. That goal like Zlatan and Ronaldo is there. You see top, top strikers in one.”
“That’s why he’s so dangerous. He has the luxury of seeing a lot of top strikers and they’re all built into one player.”
Haaland’s dominant performance on Sunday saw him become only the 25th player to hit five goals in a Premier League game – and the youngest ever to do so (22 years, 73 days).
In Haaland and team-mate Kevin De Bruyne, City have the top scorer and top assist creator in Europe’s top five leagues (in all competitions) this season.
Haaland has already found the net 17 times this season, five of which came from De Bruyne, who has a total of 10 assists in 2022-23.
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