Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway beat Denmark 3-2 in the Nations League on Thursday night. The Manchester City striker's brace took his international tally to 64 goals in 56 matches, surpassing the totals of Ronaldo for Brazil and Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Sweden.
Norway's early control
Norway took the lead on 14 minutes when former City winger Oscar Bobb cut inside from the right and curled a left-footed strike into the bottom corner. Haaland added his first of the night moments later, firing a strike between Filip Jorgensen's legs to put Norway in control.
Denmark fought back before the break. Mikkel Damsgaard's free kick halved the lead to cap a frantic 11 minutes. On the hour mark, former Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund headed home to leave the match finely poised.
Haaland's decisive strike
Haaland had the final say, firing home Martin Odegaard's corner to get Norway off to a winning start and move them top of their Nations League group that also includes Portugal and Wales.
Norwegian media singled out Haaland for praise after the game. TV2 wrote in their player ratings: "Erling Braut Haaland saves Norway again. Norway is at Level A in the Nations League. But Haaland is at a level no Norwegian player has ever been at. 64 goals in 56 international matches. Yes, you read that right. Extraterrestrial."
They added: "We have beaten Denmark in a significant match for the first time ever. It wasn't always pretty, and Denmark had its periods, but we have Erling Braut Haaland. Most of the time, that's good enough. Our Danish neighbours are green with envy that the world's best striker is Norwegian."
Teammate's verdict
Speaking to Dagbladet post-match, Haaland's Norwegian teammate and Fulham star Sander Berge said: "You don't get to see all of Erling's achievements. His statistics are absolutely ridiculous."
"His role model is Zlatan. They met in the World Cup. I was there as a third man behind the scenes. It was cool to see them next to each other. I think Zlatan thinks it's cool that Erling delivers the way he does."
"It's difficult to answer [if Haaland is better than Ibrahimovic]. But Erling is going to be one of the greatest of all time. That goes without saying. Erling is insane."
Next up for Haaland and Norway is a home clash with Portugal on Sunday. Cristiano Ronaldo's team also have a 100 per cent record after beating 1-0 last night.
