‘On another level.’ It’s the perfect phrase to describe the scoring prowess of ‘monster striker’ Elling Holland.
Holland has made history. On Nov. 23, he became the fastest player to reach the 100-goal milestone for Hamm, according to soccer stats site TransferMarkt. Holland scored the opening goal in the fifth round of the 2024-2025 English Premier League (EPL) season against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England. It was his 10th goal in five games this season. With this goal, Holland became the fastest player in EPL history to reach the 10-goal milestone.
It was his 100th goal in a City shirt. It took him 105 games to reach the milestone. This makes him the fastest player in history to reach the milestone, alongside Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored his 100th goal in 105 games for the club.
The list of legends under Holland is long. Luis Suarez reached 100 goals in 120 games while playing for Barcelona, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored 100 goals in 124 games for Paris Saint-Germain. Ronaldo was also a scoring machine at Juventus, reaching 100 goals in 131 games. He was followed by Ruud van Nistelrooy (131 games), Edinson Cavani (135 games), Robert Lewandowski (136 games), Kylian Mbappe (137 games), and Christian Vieri (138 games).
Holland’s scoring pace is nothing short of phenomenal.
After leaving Dortmund for City in the summer of 2022, he immediately dominated the EPL. He scored 36 goals in the EPL alone in the 2022-2023 season. In 35 games, he had 36 goals and eight assists. He surpassed Alan Shearer and Andy Cole’s EPL single-season record of 34 goals (in the 42-game format). Mohamed Salah’s 32 goals are the most in an EPL season in the 38-game format. The EPL began in 1992-1993 with 22 teams playing 42 games per season before switching to a 20-team, 38-game format for the 1995-1996 season. With 44 total attacking points, he is tied with Thierry Henry for the most attacking points in a single season in the EPL’s 38-game format.
Holland exploded for 52 goals last season, including the league, FA Cup, League Cup, and European Champions League. Holland became the first player since 1931 to score 50 or more goals in a single season in England’s top flight in 92 years. After struggling to get over the final hurdle without a clear-cut frontman, City won the coveted European Champions League title with Holland. Holland scored a whopping 12 goals in the Champions League alone. City won the league, the FA Cup, and the Champions League, completing their first ever treble.
In the following season, 2023-2024, the scoring continued. It wasn’t quite as good as the 2022-2023 season, but he was still the top scorer. Holland scored 27 goals. 메이저사이트 That’s five goals more than the second-place finisher, Cole Palmer (Chelsea – 22). It was the seventh time in his career that he was the top scorer with back-to-back goals. Only Shearer, Michael Owen, Thierry Henry, Robin van Persie, Harry Kane and Saliman have won the Golden Boot in back-to-back seasons.
Holland has been even hotter on his toes this season.
He has scored 10 goals in five games. This is an even faster pace than his first season. “Having returned from a well-deserved ‘summer break’ following Norway’s Euro2024 failure, he has looked fresher and hungrier than ever this season,” wrote the BBC. Holland told Sky Sports after the game: “I’m feeling good and energized after a long vacation and a good pre-season. The years since I’ve been here have gone by really quickly. Now that my body and feet have rested a bit, I’m ready to do more.” “Only soccer players know how important it is to rest. It’s a long season, so it’s important to take care of your body and mind. At the moment I feel refreshed and that’s the most important thing,” he said.
Pep Guardiola said after the game, “We just need to get the ball to him more in the final third (attacking area). That’s what he wants from the team,” he said, ”He’s unstoppable. Even if the center back has a gun, he can’t stop him,” he added tongue-in-cheek. If Holland wins the top scorer award for the third consecutive season, he will join Shearer-Henry as the “Legend”. Shearer won the title from 1994-1995 to 1996-1997 and Henri won it from 2003-2004 to 2005-2006, making him the only striker in EPL history to win the title in three consecutive seasons.
Holland’s 100th goal for City puts him in seventh place on the club’s all-time goalscoring list. Among active players, he is third behind Raheem Sterling (131) and Kevin De Bruyne (103). He could become the all-time leader as early as next season. The gap between him and Sergio Aguero (260 goals) is quite large, but he could catch up quickly if he continues to play for City.
In the midst of this incredible record, Holland is currently in the news for something else.
Holland shocked the world with his violent outbursts against Arsenal, as if he was suffering from anger management disorder. “Holland threw a ball at an Arsenal player’s head, which was followed by a scuffle between the players,” the Daily Star reported on March 23. Holland’s reaction was irritating throughout the game. Despite his goal, he didn’t seem to like being on the back foot and being dragged down. What’s more, Arsenal were playing with 10 men and couldn’t get back into the game easily.
Eventually, Holland lost his temper. After Stones’ dramatic equalizer in the last minute of the game, he did something he shouldn”t have done. He picked up the ball and threw it at the head of Arsenal’s Magalhaes. Gabriel Jesus and Ben White, outraged by the behavior, approached Hollande to protest. But Hollande was unperturbed. This was not his usual behavior. It didn’t end there, as he shouted disrespectfully at Arsenal prospect Miles Lewis-Skelly, who had gotten in the middle of the dispute, saying, “What the fuck do you think you are?”
It was an inexplicable behavior from Holland, who had always exuded a diligent, zen-like image. “This is the real Holland, not the media-packaged version of him,” said one fan, pointing out that his real personality came through. “You can’t disrespect other people like that, I don’t know why the referee doesn’t check this with VAR,” another Arsenal fan wrote, adding, ”He’s an amazing striker, but he’s shown what an asshole he is when he doesn’t get his way.”