Erling Haaland has turned another huge number into a headline. With a single swing of his left foot in a wild 5–4 win away at Fulham, the Manchester City striker reached 100 Premier League goals and did it faster than anyone in history. At the same time, his total of 35 goals in 27 games for club and country this season underlines what the numbers have been shouting for years: this is not a hot streak, it is a new normal.

According to the Premier League’s own statistics, Haaland reached his century in just 111 league appearances. ESPN’s match coverage of the Fulham game confirms the moment, placing the 100th goal in the 17th minute of City’s crazy nine-goal thriller at Craven Cottage. NBC Sports’ highlight coverage repeated the same number: 111 games, 100 goals, and a record torn out of the books.

Fastest to 100 Premier League goals – and by a distance

The Premier League calls it clearly in its numbers piece on the Norwegian: “Haaland took just 111 matches to reach the century, becoming the quickest player ever to do so, beating Alan Shearer’s record of 124 matches.” That 13-game gap is huge in goal-scoring terms, especially when the man you are beating is Alan Shearer, the league’s all-time leading scorer and the benchmark for English top-flight finishers.

Before Haaland, the “fastest to 100” club was a short and elite list. Shearer’s 124 games led the way, with stars like Harry Kane, Sergio Agüero and Thierry Henry all taking more matches to hit their first Premier League century. They are some of the most complete forwards the league has seen, players who built entire club eras around their goals. Haaland has just passed them for pace in only his third season in England.

To put 111 games into context, it is not much more than two full Premier League seasons’ worth of matches. Most great strikers are still “settling in” to the league at that point, learning the rhythm and the opponents. Haaland has used the same span to produce 100 goals – an average of just under a goal per game over a long, sustained period at the very top level.

“If 100 came this fast, what will his numbers look like at 28 or 30?”

The Fulham 5–4 thriller: a landmark inside chaos

Haaland’s 100th Premier League goal did not come in a quiet, controlled 2–0 win. It arrived in one of the most chaotic games of City’s season, a 5–4 away win over Fulham that felt more like basketball than football at times.

As ESPN’s report notes, Haaland struck in the 17th minute at Craven Cottage to bring up the milestone. From there, the match unfolded into a nine-goal rollercoaster. For City, it was three points they were desperate not to drop in a tight title race. For Haaland, it was a personal landmark that felt almost inevitable.

Premier League coverage and the official statistics page both tie the moment directly to that fixture: Fulham vs Manchester City, away, 5–4 scoreline, Haaland on the team sheet and into the record books. The league and broadcasters have since released video packages collecting his first 100 Premier League goals, and the Fulham strike sits there with the other 99 – another cool, clinical finish in a long line of them.

35 goals in 27 games: the season behind the record

The day at Fulham was not just a one-off highlight. It sits inside another massively productive season. The Instagram caption that sparked wider discussion – noting 35 goals in 27 games for club and country this season – lines up with the numbers on official stat pages and season summaries.

Wikipedia’s breakdown of Haaland’s campaign, as well as the Premier League and club statistics pages, all show the same story: he is scoring at a rate that most strikers only dream of hitting for three or four months, and he is doing it over the entire season. The exact tally of 35 goals in 27 matches fits his known output across competitions like:

• Premier League
• UEFA Champions League
• Domestic cups
• International fixtures for Norway

What makes this so striking is that it is not new for him. Since joining Manchester City, Haaland has already produced a 36-goal Premier League season, the highest single-season total in the competition’s history. Every year, he resets what looks “normal” for a striker in a team that is fighting for every major trophy.

“We used to talk about golden boots. With Haaland it feels like we’re talking about video game stats.”

Breaking Shearer’s mark: what this really means

Beating Alan Shearer to a goal-scoring record in the Premier League is not a small detail. Shearer’s numbers have stood for decades as the reference point for greatness. To pass one of his key milestones by 13 games is not just a fun stat, it is a serious statement about how quickly Haaland is building his case in English football history.

The Premier League’s official piece on “the numbers behind Erling Haaland’s 100 Premier League goals” lays this out clearly. They list Shearer at 124 matches to 100 goals, with other greats further back. Haaland, at 111, changes the scale of the conversation. When you look at the names he has moved ahead of – players like Kane, Agüero and Henry – the size of the achievement comes into focus.

Those forwards defined eras at Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal. They delivered titles, finals, and long highlight reels. Haaland is on pace to hit similar or higher totals in far less time, in a City side that already demands excellence from every player. The record is not proof that he is the “best ever”, but it is strong evidence that his ceiling is incredibly high.

Verified by the big three: Premier League, ESPN, NBC

In a sport world full of quick posts and hot takes, this milestone has something very important going for it: it is fully backed by the main authorities on the competition. The Premier League’s own stats and features confirm both the 100th goal and the 111-game mark. ESPN’s match report on City’s win at Fulham repeats the same facts, highlighting the 17th-minute strike and the historic pace of his total.

NBC Sports, through its highlight coverage, adds its own layer, with commentary noting how “it has taken him 111 games, that’s all, erasing Alan’s 124 in the record books.” When league organisers, a global broadcaster like ESPN, and another major rights holder like NBC are all in sync on the same numbers, you are not dealing with guesswork. You are dealing with a fully verified record.

Even the Instagram post that helped push the conversation, shared by respected breaking-news reporter Fabrizio Romano, is not treated as the primary proof here. Instead, his caption is checked against the official stats. Once you compare them with the Premier League, club pages and season summaries, they match up. That is how a record like this should be covered: excitement first, but always backed by the data.

“We’re not just watching a great striker, we’re watching the numbers that kids will quote in 20 years.”

Is this the peak, or just the start?

Haaland’s 100 Premier League goals and 35 strikes this season raise a simple question: how far can this go? He is already outpacing some of the most efficient finishers the league has seen, and he is doing it at an age and in a system that should, in theory, allow him to keep improving.

There are, of course, unknowns. Long careers at the top require fitness, smart rotation, and a bit of luck. Defenders will study him even more closely. Managers will build game plans to limit his touches. But the pattern so far is clear. At every step, from Salzburg to Dortmund to Manchester City, Haaland has met each new level with more goals, not fewer.

For now, the safest statement is also the simplest: 100 goals in 111 Premier League games, and 35 goals in 27 matches this season, are not normal numbers. They belong to a player who is changing what “normal” looks like for a modern striker.

The next chapter in a record-breaking career

The Fulham goal and the 111-game record will sit on every graphic and every stat list from now on when people talk about the fastest to 100 Premier League goals. It is a neat, easy-to-remember marker in a career made up of huge, round numbers.

But it is also just one stop on a journey that feels far from finished. With Manchester City chasing titles on all fronts and Norway relying on him as their main star, Haaland will have chances to push his totals across leagues and competitions even higher. The Premier League, ESPN, NBC and the game’s main stat keepers have put a clear label on what he has done so far. The rest of the story will be written goal by goal, season by season.

For fans, rivals and future historians of the game, the message is the same: keep the record books open. Erling Haaland is not done filling them.