Manchetser City striker Erling Haaland broke the record for most goals scored in a single season of the Premier League (PL) in his debut season.
Haaland, aged 22, bagged his 35th league goal in a Manchester City's win over Fulham, breaking the record of two former English strikers Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, both scored 34 league goals in 41 and 42 matches while playing for Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers respectively.
"It's a special night and a special moment. I'm really happy and proud. I don't know what else to say," Haaland told Sky Sports. "I knew about the record, of course, but we tried to create chances to score and it wasn't easy because they wanted to defend. We struggled in the first half but they eventually came."
Earlier, Haaland surpassed the hat-trick records of former Manchester United forward Ruud van Nistelrooy and three other Premier League greats.
With his hat-trick against Wolves January 22, 2023, he broke the record of Van Nistelrooy for the most hat tricks in the Premier League with four in just 19 appearances.
The Norwegian international also broke the record of three others — Luis Suárez (fourth hat-trick in 81 appearances), Alan Shearer (fourth hat-trick in 86 appearances), and Robbie Fowler (fourth hat-trick in 89 appearances).
The 22-year-old now has 35 PL goals in 31 appearances and 51 in total in 45 appearances for the English Champions.
Head coach, Pep Guardiola was full of praise for his young strike after he broke the record for most goals in a single season.
"Incredible," Guardiola told BBC Sport. "He's just 22 and still has five games left. How many games I made the substitution after a hat-trick in 60 minutes, maybe he'd have scored more. But maybe he'd have got injured. He's special. Congratulations to him.”
"We expected him to score goals but to break Cole and Shearer records... I'm pretty sure what he wants is to win the Premier League. We have one game in hand but still just one point in front. We have to keep going and recover well," he further added.
Manchester City will face the 14-time European Champions Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League semi-final on Tuesday, May 9 at the Santiago Bernabeu.