Erling Haaland pips Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe to international milestone | OneFootball

Manchester City talisman Erling Haaland set another goalscoring record after netting a treble in Norway’s 5-0 win over Israel on Saturday.

The 25-year-old has been in red-hot form since August and has scored 12 times in all competitions for Manchester City this season, dragging his side out of their early season slump marked by league defeats to Tottenham and Brighton.

Haaland is in the form of his life and has noticeably taken his all-round centre forward play to a new level this season – as Manchester City navigate life beyond Kevin De Bruyne and mitigate the loss of the brilliant Belgian under newly-appointed sporting director Hugo Viana.

City are in fifth place in the Premier League table after seven games and return to Premier League action against Everton on October 18 as Jack Grealish returns to the Etihad Stadium three months on from joining the Toffees on a season-long loan.

Pep Guardiola’s men are undergoing a period of transition on the pitch and relied heavily on Haaland to provide the goods in front of goal since Julian Alvarez’s lucrative sale to Atletico Madrid last summer.

Haaland committed his long-term future to Manchester City in January as he signed a sensational 10-year contract that is set to keep the Norway international at the Etihad Stadium till the end of the 2033-34 season.

The Leeds-born star has been a sensation since his £53 million arrival to City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, having led the Blues to a historic treble and their maiden UEFA Champions League title in his debut season in England.

Haaland’s increasingly vocal presence in the dressing room played a crucial role in his inclusion in Manchester City’s captaincy group for the 2025-26 season, with the star forward netting 35 goals in all competitions last term as Guardiola and co endured their most difficult season in nearly a decade.

The international break has not quenched Haaland’s thirst for goals and after missing a penalty – and its retake – against Israel on Saturday, Haaland went on to net a hat-trick in Norway’s 5-0 win over the Middle East nation in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers clash.

In doing so, Haaland overtook each of Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe to score 50 international goals at senior level – reaching the feat in just 46 games, as per Opta Joe.

Guardiola and Manchester City will know that over-relying on Haaland to maintain his current form is unsustainable as the Blues look to return to challenging for major trophies after a sub-standard 2024-25 season.

Haaland has been one of the main reasons for Manchester City avoiding defeat since their 2-1 loss to Brighton at the end of August – underpinning his continuing and ever-growing importance to the Blues’ chances of mounting a title challenge against Liverpool and Arsenal.