Manchester derby: Erling Haaland’s continental milestones set stage for drought-ending showdown

Erling Haaland scored an extraordinary number of goals for Norway on Tuesday night, making history for the White and Blue in Europe.

The Manchester City forward netted five times in the 11-1 thrashing of Moldova during matchday six of their World Cup qualifying campaign, leaving the Group I leaders six points ahead of Italy in second place having played one game more.

Three of Haaland's goals came in the first half, and he added two more after the break, with Thelo Aasgaard also scoring four times in the commanding victory for Stale Solbakken's team.

In addition to his five goals, Haaland set up two more, bringing his total involvement in goals to seven as he created continental history in the process.

Milestone-laden international break for Haaland

According to Opta, by netting five times in the victory, Haaland emulated Hans Krankl as the first European to score five times in a World Cup qualifier since Krankl notched six for Austria against Malta in 1977.

Haaland has now scored in eight consecutive international appearances, totalling 14 goals in that period, bringing his total to 48 goals in 45 caps for Norway.

Adding to the striker's list of achievements was his becoming the first player from his country to score four goals or more in a single game for Norway in the current century.

4 - Erling Haaland is the first player to score four goals in a single game for Norway this century, with the striker now having more goals (47) than games (45) for the Norwegian national team for the first time in his career. Immense. pic.twitter.com/Bi3qAT9cwa
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) September 9, 2025

Tuesday’s 11-1 victory over Moldova marked the first time in 77 years, and the third time in their history, that the White and Blue have scored 11 or more goals in a game.

This feat was first achieved in 1946 when Norway beat Finland 12-0, and they also scored 11 against the United States in an 11-0 thrashing in August 1948.

11 - Norway scored 11 goals in a single game for the third time in history:

12-0 against Finland on 28 June 1946
11-0 against USA on 6 August 1948
11-1 against Moldova on 9 September 2025 ?

Deluge. pic.twitter.com/BfohB8atgI
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) September 9, 2025

Haaland's remarkable goalscoring thus stands him in good stead ahead of Sunday's Manchester derby, as he seeks to end his goal drought against the Red Devils.

What is Haaland’s record against Manchester United?

Although the raw stats reveal that Haaland has scored six goals in eight appearances against Manchester United, those strikes came in his first five matches against the Red Devils.

Since scoring in the 3-1 league victory in the 2023-24 season, the City forward has fired blanks in three consecutive games against the enemy, including the FA Cup final loss at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

That blank has been followed by scoreless games in the 2024 Community Shield, as well as a 2-1 loss in the Premier League at the Etihad in mid-December 2024, and the forward seeks to avoid a fourth match without finding the back of the net against the Red Devils.

Although results for Man City this season have been mixed, Haaland has scored in the 4-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers and opened the scoring in the Cityzens’ 2-1 defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break.

Regardless, the Norwegian, fresh off his five-goal return, will seek to punish a wobbly United in Sunday’s derby.