Erling Haaland breaks 29-year-old Premier League record as Pep Guardiola suffers first unwanted of his career
Not even a record goal from Erling Haaland could prevent Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola from falling to an unprecedented 2-1 defeat at Brighton.
Haalandwho had scored just one goal in his last five Premier League games, scored in the 23rd minute to put City 1-0 up over Brighton.
The Norwegian thus scored his 75th goal in the Premier League in just 77 games.
What made Haaland's feat even more notable is the fact that he reached the 75-goal mark in 16 fewer games than the previous record holder. Alan Shearer administered.
The Premier League's all-time leading goalscorer scored his 75th goal in March 1995 thanks to a brace in Blackburn's 3-1 home win over Arsenal.
However, it was Brighton who would have the last laugh at the Amex Stadium.
Substitute Joao Pedro took advantage of City's inability to clear their lines as he took the ball from Rico Lewis inside the area and hit it beyond Ederson to score the equalizer in the 78th minute.
Five minutes later, midfielder Matt O'Riley had given Brighton the lead, causing wild scenes among the Seagulls faithful.
In the end, City were unable to find a late goal, meaning the club suffered a fourth successive defeat and now sit two points behind leaders Liverpool.
Incredibly, it is the first time they have lost four games in a row in 18 years.
The defeat to Brighton also made Guardiola the first time in his brilliant managerial career that he has lost four games in a row.
Guardiola came close to achieving the unwanted feat during his time in charge of Bayern Munich.
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Under Guardiola, the Bavarians went through a bad run when they lost consecutive games against Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona and Augsburg.
Munich was also eliminated from the DFB-Pokal semi-finals by Borussia Dortmund in that series of matches, but their exit came on penalties after neither team broke the deadlock in regulation time or extra time.
As for Haaland, Record feats have followed since his £51.1m move from Borussia Dortmund to City in June 2022.
In his first Premier League campaign, Haaland's 36 goals set the bar for most goals in a season in the English top flight, surpassing Andy Cole and Alan Shearer's tally of 34.
The record for most goals in a single season in all competitions by a Premier League player also belongs to Haaland, with his 52 goals in 2022/23 comfortably ahead of Mohamed Salah and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who scored 44 goals in the 2017/18 and 2002/03 periods respectively.
Haaland was also the fastest in Premier League history to reach a half-ton, doing so in just 48 games.
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He reached the 50-goal mark in 17 fewer games than previous record holder Andy Cole.
Haaland Dizzying start to the 2024/25 Premier League season It also meant he set the new record for most goals scored in three, four and five games.
The Norwegian shooter scored seven goals in the first three games, which later became nine from four and then ten from five.
After Haaland scored a hat-trick in his side's 4-1 win over Ipswich in August, Guardiola praised his star striker's “ridiculous” exploits.
“He can compete in terms of goals with Cristiano (Ronaldo) and (Lionel) Messi,” Guardiola said.
“The numbers are incredible at his age. He is an incredible threat, I hope he can be here for many years.”
