Erling Haaland was back to his very best as the striker led Manchester City to a thumping derby win over Manchester United on Sunday. The Norwegian made yet more history, becoming the joint-top scorer in the fixture as well as the fastest player to reach 90 Premier League goals. And a beaming Pep Guardiola declared that Haaland was in the best form of his career.

"Erling has been incredible since the start but this season he is better than ever. I would say better than the Treble year," Guardiola said after the demolition derby. "Erling never disappoints us. He is a special player." 

The Norwegian's brace against City's greatest rivals saw him move ahead of the legendary Didier Drogba in the league's all-time scorer list, despite playing less than half the amount of seasons as the former Chelsea hitman.

And with Haaland closing in on a century of goals early into his fourth season, the time has come to ask where he ranks among the league's greatest strikers of all time…

Getty10Michael Owen

Owen's career is often remembered as for what might have been had it not been for his hamstring injuries and he managed to alienate fans of all the clubs he played for. But no one should forget what an exciting player he was when he burst onto the scene, scoring on his debut for Liverpool at Wimbledon while still 17 and then scoring 18 goals in the season when he turned 18 plus 12 assists.

Owen struck 118 times in his seven full seasons at Anfield and in 2001 became the first English player in 21 years to win the Ballon d'Or after firing Liverpool to a cup treble. He remains the last Englishman to have won the game's most prestigious individual prize. His career never really recovered from leaving his boyhood club to move to Real Madrid and he never got the return to Liverpool he craved.

But when he was fit, he continued to score with impressive consistency for Newcastle and Manchester United, where he picked up two Premier League titles and netted a thrilling winning strike in a 4-3 win over City. He kept going despite the toil of all his hamstring injuries until 2013, bowing out aged 33 with 150 Premier League goals to his name.

AdvertisementHulton Archive9Eric Cantona

'Le God' was not as prolific as the modern day strikers, but his influence on the Premier League in its infant stage was utterly astounding. Put simply, he guided United to the title in every full season he played, the Red Devils missing out in 1994-95 when he was suspended in January for his infamous 'kung fu' kick on a Crystal Palace fan.
He joined United four months into the league's inaugural season, when United had made a pitiful start to the campaign of four points from four games which has only just been matched by Ruben Amorim's crop of misfits. His nine goals and 11 assists fired United to a first title in 26 years and he followed it up by inspiring them to a league and cup double, with 18 goals and 13 assists. We'll never know how prolific he could have been in the 1994-95 season as he was on 12 goals when he was hit with his long ban. 

He returned in irresistible fashion, scoring on his comeback against Liverpool and helping United reclaim the title with 25 goal contributions. His six goals in as many games between March and April were worth 11 points, none more valuable than his winner in the title showdown away to Newcastle. His retirement one year later after captaining United to another title came as a massive shock but he ensured he bowed out at the very top of his game. 

Getty 8Andy Cole

"He gets the ball, he scores a goal, Andy, Andy Cole." No one could argue with the words to the chant dedicated to one of the deadliest strikers the league has ever known. Cole made his Premier League debut 32 years ago but he still remains in the top five scorers of all time, only being knocked down from fourth to fifth by Mohamed Salah on Sunday.

In his very first season in the top flight after firing Newcastle to promotion, he scored 34 goals in one season, a record which stood along with Alan Shearer's as the most strikes in a season for 29 years until Erling Haaland broke it. Cole's feats made him the most expensive English player when he switched to Manchester United in 1995 and he overcame some difficulties to become Alex Ferguson's most reliable hitman. His goals helped the Red Devils win five titles, including the decisive strike to clinch the crown in 1999 – the first step of the historic treble. 

Cole was not without his critics, among them England coach Glenn Hoddle who declared, somewhat unfairly, "I don't think he's international class, he needs five chances to score one." Cole had the last laugh, scoring regularly for Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Fulham to retire as the league's second top scorer, only trailing Alan Shearer at the time.

Getty7Sergio Aguero

The deadly Argentine's signing for City from Atletico Madrid in 2011 for £35m was greeted with the usual doubts about his price tag and his suitability to the league but he quickly made a mockery of his critics, scoring twice on his debut against Swansea after coming off the bench. He finished the season with 21 goals, the last proving the most famous in the league's history as it gave City their first title in 44 years, snatching it from Manchester United's grasp. 

It was the first of five crowns he would win with City, becoming the club's all-time top scorer midway through his seventh campaign. He scored 20 goals or more in six of his 10 seasons at the Etihad Stadium and were it not fo injuries he would have got far more. 

A lot has been made of the fact that Pep Guardiola wanted him to contribute more than goals and used him less and less in his last couple of seasons, and yet Aguero still played a crucial role in the 2017-18 'Centurion' triumph and to beating Liverpool by one point in 2018-19, bagging 21 goals in each campaign. He signed off with 184 league goals to his name, with a statue soon erected one year later recreating his iconic, history-making goal against Queen's Park Rangers.