Alan Shearer claimed Erling Haaland was “the best” after a tease from Gary Lineker in the aftermath of his Premier League goalscoring record broken.
The Norwegian scored Manchester City's second goal in their 3-0 win against West Ham on Wednesday evening and became the highest-ever scoring player in a single campaign. It saw him move ahead of Newcastle icon Shearer and Andrew Cole.
The goal was certainly one befitting of the record as he latched onto a glorious ball from Jack Grealish before guiding home a sumptuous chip. Haaland looks likely to add even more to his count before the end of the campaign but for the time being he is left toasting his 35th Premier League goal of the campaign.
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker took to Twitter with a tease in the direction of his colleague Shearer. He wrote: “A Premier League record for @ErlingHaaland. 35 goals. That’s nuts. Thoughts are with @alanshearer at this difficult time.”
Shearer then responded to that cheeky jibe with his own take on Haaland’s goalscoring feat. The ex-striker wrote: “Couldn’t have wanted it to go to a nicer guy. It’s only taken 28 years!!!! He’s the best,” alongside a host of applause emojis.
It is certainly no surprise to see Shearer offer his congratulations to the Man City sensation for his achievement. He had predicted back in March that he would be claiming the record before the end of the campaign.
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Speaking to Amazon Prime Video Sport, he said: "He’ll do it. I was going to actually congratulate him tonight because it’s only a matter of time before he gets it.
"I’d be the first to shake his hand, it’s going to go. I really enjoy his attitude, I love his desire and I love what he was saying about not sleeping at night when he doesn’t score goals because that’s what a goalscorer is.
“I love everything about him and as I’ve said beforehand, if you’re building the perfect centre forward he is it and I think he’s almost perfect, and he’s playing in a great team.”
Haaland will be hoping to add to his record and make it somewhat insurmountable over the closing weeks of the campaign as he attempts to fire Man City to the Premier League crown. The reigning champions face Leeds, Everton, Chelsea and Brighton before the end of the campaign.
Away from the domestic title, City are also aiming to become just the second team to achieve the treble in the Premier League era. They take on fierce rivals Man United in the FA Cup final, whilst they also face Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.
