Goli Innocent 
It is beyond incredible the rate at which Man City striker, Erling Haaland scores lots of goals, but his stunning bicycle kick in Manchester City’s victory over Southampton will undoubtedly rank among his best.
Speaking with BBC Sport, the club manager, Pep Guardiola said, “We have lived two incredible decades with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but he is on that level.”
“The second goal was amazing. It is not easy to pick the ball up in the sky and put it on the grass.”
Speaking further, Guardiola said, “I think our bosses bought him for this type of game. We are uncomfortable and not playing at our best level but he gets the goal.
“The second, you can’t imagine at his height he has this ability. Exceptional goal.”
It would be recalled that in four of the past five seasons, the English champions signed Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for what increasingly appears a bargain £51.2m in July.
Nine months later, the Norway striker has equalled the record of 44 goals in all competitions by a Premier League player in one season.
Through to the Champions League quarter-finals and FA Cup semi-finals, he could have 16 games to shatter that mark set by Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2003 and Mohamed Salah in 2018.
His overhead kick was his second of the day at St Mary’s and was also his 30th league goal of the campaign
Taking just 27 games, he has reached that total quicker than anyone else.
“He scores a lot of goals. It is insane. He is there. If we create chances he is there,” said team-mate Kevin de Bruyne.
On Haaland’s spectacular second, the Belgian joked: “You will never see me do that! You can get me to Southampton Hospital if I do that!
“Haaland is happy here,” he added. “He knows we create a lot of chances and he does the rest.”
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Premier League defender, Danny Gabbidon described Haaland’s finish as “outrageous”.
“What a finish this is. He’s got so much to do, the cross is behind him and he’s had to adjust. The execution is outstanding,” he added.
Commentating for BBC Match of the Day, Jonathan Pearce said: “I’ve been doing this job for 42 years and I cannot remember seeing a goalscorer like this.
“He is a goalscoring machine. I’m lost for superlatives. Absolutely stunning.”
Only two other players in the history of the premier league have scored 30 or more goals in their first season, with Andrew Cole reaching 34 in 1993-94 and Kevin Phillips netting 30 in 1999-00.
Haaland has, with about a quarter of the season remaining, outscored eight Premier League teams.
In setting up Haaland’s first of the match, De Bruyne reached a milestone of his own as he became only the fifth player to reach 100 Premier League assists, and the quickest to do so – in 237 games.
On his landmark achievement, the Belgium playmaker said: “We scored a lot of goals in the eight years I have been here. I have been blessed with my team-mates here.
“It is nice. Maybe when I am done playing football it is something I will look back on.”
