Michael Owen makes Erling Haaland “cheat” claim after seeing his hat-trick record destroyed

Michael Owen has fired Erling Haaland a jokey accusation of being a “cheat” after seeing his Premier League hat-trick record destroyed by the Manchester City sensation.

Haaland continues to take the Premier League by storm with his treble against Manchester United helping him break a record held by Michael Owen by a ridiculous 40 fixtures.

The 22-year-old striker, who has now scored 14 goals in the division for Manchester City, needed only eight matches to score three trebles – with the previous record standing at 48.

Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen had topped the list until Sunday afternoon, with Ruud van Nistelrooy next on 59 appearances ahead of Fernando Torres on 64 and Andy Cole on 65.

After watching the Norwegian’s latest prolific display, Owen has joked that having Haaland in the City team is a cheat code.

Speaking on the Pitchside podcast, he said: “In this Manchester City team as well, everything is aligned, isn’t it? He’s [Haaland has] come to the Premier League with experience under his belt. He’s the finished product now but he’s still young enough.

“He’s gone to a team that is absolutely in peak form, creating goals. They’ve got someone called Kevin De Bruyne playing behind him.

“Notwithstanding all that, he’s just an incredible player. He makes bad balls look good. He can score with any foot, with his head. He’s bigger than everyone, faster than anyone, stronger than anyone. It’s just a bit of a cheat really.”

Haaland might well be looking at Mohamed Salah’s Premier League goal record of 32 in a single season, and is currently on course for an astonishing 66 strikes.

The former Molde man sits seven goals clear at the top of the scorers charts ahead of Harry Kane, having also managed three assists.

The pundit suggested he could even challenge Kane for Alan Shearer’s all-time Premier League goalscoring record, whilst predicting that he will break the record for goals scored in a season.

Owen continued: “I would say so [Haaland could break Shearer’s record]. If he’s having success and if the Premier League remains the strongest then I would say so and it’s amazing isn’t it? He’s been in the Premier League a matter of weeks and we’re already talking about Alan Shearer’s record already.

“I said on the TV after about three or four games that this fella is freakish and he could score 50 goals in all competitions and I was saying it partly having a laugh and now I think, was I underplaying it? Is he going to score 60 now? If he stays fit, he’s going to score 50 plus. It’s impossible not to.

“The records he’s going to smash, I mean he’s already smashed half of them. The Premier League one season I think it’s early 30s, [Mohamed] Salah I think. I mean that’s going to get absolutely trounced isn’t it of he stays fit? It’s going to be trounced before the World Cup.

“It’s scary to think what he could do. It’s exciting isn’t it to see someone like that and we’ve got him in the Premier League. We can watch him every week. He’s box office and you want to watch him all the time.”