The world's best young soccer player broke a Premier League record after scoring hat-tricks in back-to-back matches
- Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has already scored nine goals in the English Premier League.
- No player in the division's history has ever scored more in their first five matches.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland broke an English Premier League scoring record as he hit his second hat-trick in as many games on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old took just 38 minutes to score three goals as City hammered Nottingham Forest 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
That followed another hat-trick from Haaland on Saturday, as City beat Crystal Palace 4-2.
Having also scored goals against West Ham United and Newcastle United, it means the Norwegian has already hit nine goals in the Premier League.
No player in the division's history has ever managed more goals in their first five matches.
The previous record of eight had been held by the former City striker Sergio Aguero and the ex-Coventry City hitman Mick Quinn.
"It's been good so far, I'm not complaining!" Haaland told reporters after the match against Forest, adding that his "amazing" teammates are helping him find the net so often.
"It's fantastic. That's why I came here. We play so good, we find each other, it's going to be nice."
Haaland signed for City this summer from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of $62 million.
He arrived at the club having scored 86 goals in 89 games for Dortmund. Prior to his spell in Germany, Haaland had scored 29 goals in 27 games for Austrian outfit RB Salzburg, while he's also scored 20 goals in 21 games for his country.
The former City striker Dion Dublin – who scored 111 Premier League goals during his career – said Haaland could become Premier League's all-time top goalscorer.
The division's current record scorer is Alan Shearer, who scored 260 goals in 441 games for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle.
"City have the best striker in the world right now," Dublin told BBC Radio 5 Live. "If he stays in the Premier League, every record will be broken."