Erling Haaland Scores Against Every Premier League Team

Erling Haaland finally ticked off Sunderland. It took him three matches, 159 minutes and a fair bit of tension, but the list is complete – for now.

The Norwegian’s late strike in Manchester City’s wild 5-3 win at the Etihad on Sunday means he has scored against every single Premier League side he has faced. Twenty-five opponents. Twenty-five victims since he walked into the league in August 2022.

The last gap on the list

Sunderland had been the awkward outlier. Across his first two league games against them, Haaland fired three shots, no goals, and left each time with a rare blank. As the clock ticked into the final 10 minutes on Sunday, that oddity looked like it might linger a little longer.

Then came the familiar scene.

In the 81st minute, Haaland slid in at the back post to turn in what looked like the goal that finally ended the mini-hoodoo. Even then, he had to wait. VAR stepped in, just as it had in the Manchester derby a week earlier, and once again a Haaland strike that was initially ruled out was eventually given. Relief, then inevitability. Sunderland joined the queue.

A ruthless spread of goals

Haaland’s Premier League scoring map is already sprawling.

He has tormented West Ham more than anyone: 11 goals in eight games against the London club. Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers have each shipped 10 to him, in just six and seven matches respectively.

Manchester United know the feeling. He has nine goals in eight league derbies. Fulham have conceded eight in eight. Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion have both seen him score seven times.

Even Arsenal, City’s closest title rivals in recent seasons, have been repeatedly punished. Haaland has six goals in eight league meetings with Mikel Arteta’s side.

Then comes a cluster of clubs on five: Burnley (in only four games), Brentford and Nottingham Forest (both in seven and eight matches). Another band sit on four conceded – Ipswich Town, Southampton, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Bournemouth.

The list keeps rolling. Leicester City and Liverpool have each let in three. Leeds United have been breached twice. And now, in the one-goal column, sit Sheffield United, Luton Town, Coventry City, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Newcastle United.

Every Premier League opponent he has faced so far has felt it at least once.

The next test: Hull City

That perfect record comes with a small asterisk. It only covers the teams he has already met.

Hull City are next in line. Haaland has never faced them in the Premier League, but City are scheduled to meet the Tigers in their final league game before Christmas on 19 December. If he plays and scores, the tally moves to 26 out of 26. Another box ticked. Another stat bent to his will.

Miss out, and the collection stays incomplete a little longer.

Kane, and the company Haaland keeps

Only one player with more than a single Premier League appearance has managed what Haaland is doing now: Harry Kane.

The former Tottenham Hotspur striker, now at Bayern Munich, scored against all 32 different opponents he faced in the Premier League. Every team that lined up against him in the competition was eventually breached.

Kane is building something similar in Germany. Since joining Bayern, he has scored against 21 of the 22 clubs he has faced in the Bundesliga. Only Schalke 04, in a single appearance, have kept him out so far.

Four other names technically share the “scored against every Premier League opponent faced” tag, but in a very different context. Aidan Newhouse, Gary Bull, Chris David and Josh Harrop all scored in their only Premier League game. One match, one goal, one opponent. Perfect records of a very different kind.

Haaland and Kane sit in a far more demanding bracket.

Chasing Lampard’s giant mark

For all of Haaland’s efficiency, he is still miles away from the competition’s broadest mark.

Frank Lampard holds the Premier League record for scoring against the most different teams. Across his long career, the former Chelsea and West Ham midfielder found the net against 39 separate clubs. Andrew Cole follows with 38. Jermain Defoe and Alan Shearer – the league’s all-time leading scorer – are next on 37.

Haaland’s number is 25, and rising fast. The volume is astonishing, the spread already impressive, but the scale of Lampard’s record underlines how much road still lies ahead.

For now, the story is simpler. Every Premier League side that has tried to stop Erling Haaland has, eventually, been added to his list. Hull City know exactly what awaits them in December.