Erling Haaland has silenced his doubters in the Premier League in a deafening way. The Norwegian forward’s statistics are in a class of their own in the Premier League, writes Urheilu’s Jussi Vainikka.
How long With Erling Haaland taking time to adapt to the Premier League?
The answer can be seen in the statistics: not for a moment. The Norwegian prodigy broke the league record and scored nine goals in his first five Premier League games.
Below are two back-to-back hat-tricks, one in the second half against Crystal Palace and the other in the first half against Nottingham.
Haaland’s efficiency has been absolutely exceptional. According to the Premier League’s official statistics, he has needed 105 ball touches to score nine goals, or only 11.7 touches per one hit.
For comparison, Fulham, who is second in the goal exchange with five goals Aleksandar Mitrovic has touched the ball 220 times, where the net has swung on average every 44th touch.
Over the past ten years, the Premier League Goal Exchange has been won with around 60 touches per goal. At his previous club Dortmund, Haaland needed an average of around 30 touches per hit over three Bundesliga seasons.
Only Leicester’s in the Premier League Jamie Vardy has been able to reach similar readings in recent years. Vardy won the goalscoring record in the 2019-2020 season when he completed 23 goals with 792 touches. The average value per goal was 34.4. Last season, Vardy scored an average of every 29 touches.
So far, Haaland has been scoreless only once in the Premier League. In the second match of the season against Bournemouth, the Norwegian touched the ball only eight times, but still provided one assist.
with City’s head coach With Pep Guardiola has a completely new kind of weapon in his hands that doesn’t even have to touch the ball to cause trouble for the opponent. Haaland knows that just staying in the box binds the defenders and creates space elsewhere.
– When the opponent defends the area, like Bournemouth, the attacker’s job is the hardest in the world. They have three central defenders and the Midfield is blocked. It is really difficult for the attacker, Guardiola responded to the criticism related to Haaland’s few touches.
Especially in Manchester City’s shirt, Haaland’s few touches are highlighted. City play almost every week against low defensive lines, of which the Bournemouth match was a good example.
When City dominates the ball, Haaland’s task is often just to wait for the right moment in the box. In City’s way of playing, the center forward rarely falls against the ball, unlike, say, Harry Kane in Tottenham.
According to Sky Sports (you will switch to another service) Haaland clearly has the fewest touches of the ball per game of any player who played at City under Guardiola, just 24.6. It is telling that City’s goalkeeper Ederson touches the ball an average of 34 times per match.
In City, he has carried the mantle of number one for years Sergio Aguero received an average of 45 ball touches per match under Guardiola’s coaching.
Haaland is by no means just a boxing shark. The Norwegian is a strong vertical runner who, for his part, forces opponents to defend from deep.
The fact that Haaland exceeded the expected goals, i.e. the xG reading, which describes the quality of goalscoring positions, speaks of his exceptional finishing ability. In practice, Haaland therefore constantly scores more goals than the statistical probabilities.
The sample size of Haaland’s statistics is still small in the Premier League, so the Norwegian’s average ball touches will probably increase. Still, the stats are in a class of their own compared to other top strikers.
Aston Villa will next try to stop City and Haaland in the Premier League. The teams will meet on Saturday at 19:30 Finnish time.