Haaland admits feeling pressure facing Europe's top striking duo

Erling Haaland is consistently scoring in the Premier League, yet he admits he needs to "stay on track" so that Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé don’t surpass him in the 2025/26 European Golden Shoe competition.

In the latest Premier League round against Brentford, Manchester City secured a 1-0 victory thanks to an early goal from Haaland. The Norwegian striker took only 9 minutes to open the scoring, using his strength to break through the defense and slot a low shot past goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher. The goal came from a precise long pass with the left foot by Josko Gvardiol.

This marked Haaland’s 9th Premier League goal of the season and his 18th goal in 11 matches for club and country. However, Man City faced a significant setback as Rodri had to leave the pitch due to injury in the 21st minute. The Spanish star had just returned following a lengthy ACL ligament recovery.

This win represented Pep Guardiola’s 250th Premier League victory, setting a new record by achieving this milestone in only 349 matches. The result propelled Man City to 5th place, three points behind league leaders Arsenal before the international break. Meanwhile, Brentford remained stuck at 16th position.

After the match, Haaland spoke about the pressure of competing for the European Golden Shoe against formidable opponents: “Don’t forget also Mbappé who has also had a very strong start. They are performing exceptionally well, so I have to keep pace only. I have never felt better than I do now. It’s all about preparation, being ready for the matches. You can be physically ready but you also need to be mentally prepared.”

“Having a young child makes me even better because I disconnect more than ever, I don’t think about football. When you’re younger, you tend to overthink and worry, but now at home I relax much more. I think I have to thank my son. For me, this goal is the peak. It’s one of my best goals because of the whole situation.”

Currently, Harry Kane is in brilliant form at Bayern Munich with 11 Bundesliga goals and has just set a record as the fastest player to reach 100 goals in Europe’s top five leagues, achieving it in only 104 games. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé leads La Liga with 9 goals and is also the top scorer in the Champions League after two rounds with 5 goals. He recently surpassed Thierry Henry to become France’s second-highest all-time scorer.