In case you hadn’t noticed, Erling Haaland has virtually secured this year’s golden boot in just six matches wearing sky blue and barring an unexpected injury, he shows no signs of slowing down.
The 22-year-old Norwegian has already bagged 10 goals and an assist in the league and a baker’s dozen in all competitions for Manchester City this season.
And we’re only in September.
Every type of goal – and plenty of them
So far, his highlights include scoring a game-winning brace against West Ham, as well as back-to-back hattricks against Palace and Forest. The latter was both a traditional perfect hattrick (left foot, right, header) and a ‘German perfect hattrick’ – all three goals scored uninterrupted by any other player.
Oh, and he also scored each of them in consecutive halves across the two games if there’s a word for that – he essentially managed the most perfect pair of trios you’ll probably see for some time.
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Even when doesn’t manage multiple goals, he produces moments of match-winning brilliance like this:
He’s going to score a lot of those finishes by the way.
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Most others would find it hard to even reach that ball and even if they could, very few are clinical, composed and creative enough to convert it into a goal.
The stats speak for themselves
With that in mind, if he’s already this prolific so early on in the season and he’s able to add even more improvised goals like this to his tally when most others wouldn’t even attempt, it’s fair to say that he’s going to pull even further ahead of his goalscoring rivals than he already is quite quickly.
To put things into perspective, even with an xG (expected goals) rating of 1.19 goals per every 90 -minutes of football, he is already exceeding his own stats, averaging an xG of 1.86 per 90 according to FotMob.
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Put even simpler, this means he’s scoring a goal around 48.5 minutes – that’s just in the Premier League alone.
If you extrapolate his numbers to take into account the three Champions League goals he’s already scored and presuming City make it to the final of the FA and Carabao Cup this year – and it looks very well they might – then the projected figures are verging on scary.
How many could Haaland theoretically score?
Were he to continue at this rate for as many games possible, he could theoretically end the season on a grand total of 102 goals – with 63 of those goals coming in the Premier League. That’s based on his average 80 or so minutes per game he’s currently on the pitch for – and it’s even more if he played the full 90 for the remaining 32 games.
Erling Haaland has virtually secured this year’s golden boot in just six matches / Credit: Man City (via Twitter)
Now, chances are he is going to a few games without a goal at some point (well, you’d hope so, for everyone else’s sake), but when you consider the sheer raft of talent and regular service from the rest of the City squad, it’s entirely possible he could break all kinds of records.
Essentially, whatever number he ends up finishing on is going to come down to whether Pep decides to rest him or whether or not he stays injury free, as he has been known to suffer a knock or two.
If left entirely up to him, we can only imagine what magic he produces.
Either way, whether you’re a City fan or not, it’s going to be genuinely riveting to see just how many goals he’ll score this season.
Nathan Aspinall clinches fourth European title despite ‘homesick’ confession
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester-born and raised darts player Nathan Aspinall clinched another European trophy over the bank holiday weekend, despite a very honest and vulnerable admission about the pressures of the professional circuit.
The Stockport darting star managed an 8-5 victory over Dutchman Danny Noppert in the final of the German Darts Grand Prix, making it his fourth PDC Euro title.
Having claimed a trio of them in 2025, Aspinall‘s prolific presence on the continent only continues to grow, but truth be told, it’s far from his favourite part of the lifestyle.
Speaking ahead of the final – and following multiple delays in transit – he said: “I don’t want to travel — I just want to be at home with my family at the moment.”
ASPINALL WINS THE TITLE IN MUNICH 🐍
What a finish to win the final 🔥
Nathan Aspinall takes out a classy 128 checkout to claim the Elten Safety Shoes German Darts Grand Prix with an 8-5 triumph over Danny Noppert 🙌#ET4pic.twitter.com/v4xHljyr46
Prior to the match against the world no. 11, ‘The Asp’ confessed to DartsNews that he feels “very flat” at present, adding, “I’m not enjoying playing darts at the moment.”
After also wrestling with passport queues and airports misplacing luggage before he could even make it to the tournament in Germany in the first place, it’s been far from a smooth EU Tour for him so far
The 34-year-old and his wife, Kirsty, have two children, Brooke and Milly Mai, with Aspinall writing on an Instagram story: “should have spent Easter with the kids.”
Nevertheless, the local lad mustered up the motivation – noting that the on-stage buzz definitely helps – to make his way into the final and finish with a not-too-shabby 128 checkout.
Having been “working on things in the background” and even walking out to his new entrance song (‘Lose Yourself by Eminem), we’re hoping he’ll soon be fully snapped out of his funk and back to enjoying the sport.
Thankfully, it seems like the result has definitely helped go some way towards that, with his reaction in the post-match pressers suggesting an upturn in both confidence and mood.
Speaking after the win, he went on to add: “I’m trying to find that love for the game again and Munich, you’ve given] me the love again. I enjoyed my darts today!”
Featured Images — Sandro Halank (via Wikimedia Commons)
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Harry Maguire extends Manchester United stay with new contract
Danny Jones
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has committed his future to the club for at least another year, signing a new contract extension.
The Man United centre-half and England international had been the subject of much speculation over the past year or so, with many expecting him to leave last summer.
Several Premier League clubs were said to be interested in acquiring the experienced centre-half’s services then, as were there other suitors this past January, but after surviving a period out of the first-choice XI, he’s since been enjoying somewhat of a renaissance.
All that being said, the board have now decided to reassure their faith in Maguire even further, offering him a fresh one-year deal with an option to extend by another season.
Now 33, it was thought that INEOS might try and cash in on the Yorkshire-born CB while they could still get a reasonable transfer fee for him, especially as a player now supposedly leaving the so-called ‘peak’ for a professional footballer.
Then again, plenty of players have certainly challenged that timeframe over the years, and if anything, this past 18 months or so has been one of the best periods in his United career.
Having not only regained a more consistent level of fitness and form, helping shore up the defence in the absence of others along the backline, he’s also continued to prove himself an aerial threat, chipping in with multiple big goals and more than one match-winner.
It’s also worth noting that he showed huge resilience after not only a fair amount of abuse from football fans and also some of his own team’s supporters, but following the saga in Greece on a family holiday in the aftermath of Euro 2020.
This bounce-back, among a number of other factors, is why he now looks like he could be back in the frame for the 2026 World Cup, making it into the Three Lions squads this past March.
Speaking in a club statement, Maguire said: “Representing Manchester United is the ultimate honour. It is a responsibility that makes myself and my family proud every single day. I’m delighted to extend my journey at this incredible club to at least eight seasons and continue to play in front of our special supporters to create more amazing moments together.
“You can feel the ambition and potential of this exciting squad. The determination throughout the whole club to fight for major trophies is clear for everyone to see, and I am confident that our best moments together remain ahead of us.”
Jason Wilcox, Manchester United director of football, went on to add: “Harry represents the mentality and resilience required to perform for Manchester United. He is the ultimate professional who brings invaluable experience and leadership to our young, ambitious squad.
“Harry, like everyone at the club, is completely determined to help Manchester United to achieve regular and sustained success.”
Danny Jones -
16th September 2022 
