‘Best in the world’ Haaland completes full house

Goals and Erling Haaland go hand in hand and the prolific scorer can now pride himself on another record he reached during a nervy 1-0 win for Manchester City over Brentford on Tuesday.

Making amends for a frustrating night in front of goal when City were held 1-1 at home by Chelsea on Saturday, Haaland replied the critics in the best way as he scored the only goal of the game at Etihad Stadium.

The goal means Haaland has faced 21 different Premier League opponents during his time with Manchester City -- and scored against them all.

His second-half winner in the match against Brentford completed the full house for the Norway striker, who has 53 goals in his 55 league appearances since joining City in the summer of 2022.

The 23-year-old forward reached the feat when he raced onto Julian Alvarez's pass to slot in his 22nd goal of the season 19 minutes from time.

"Top strikers score a lot of goals. Don't criticise, he will shut your mouth. Sooner or later he is there," said City coach Pep Guardiola, answering the criticis Haaland had received for an underwhelming showing against Chelsea last week.

"He was out for two months, he lost his grandmother, it is not easy for a human being."

Norwegian Oscar Bobb, who started the game against Brentford, also had high praise for his compatriot.

"He's the best in the world. He's only three years older than me but it's crazy to play with one of the greats," he said.

Chelsea, Liverpool, and Brentford were the only teams not to concede to Haaland in his astonishing debut season in England, when he won the Premier League Golden Boot with 36 goals in 33 games. But that has been put right this term, while he has also found the net against promoted clubs Burnley and Sheffield United.

Haaland's best Premier League scoring record is against derby rivals Manchester United as well as Fulham, with five goals in three games against each.

Only England captain Harry Kane (32) has a better record of scoring against every other team he has faced in the Premier League, while ex-Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard (39) has found the net against the most different clubs.

Haaland has yet to play against Luton, having missed December's fixture while injured, so April's game at the Etihad Stadium will bring the chance to add a 22nd name to his perfect record.