“Scored more Premier League goals this season than Chelsea”, “single-handedly fighting against Bundesliga tax” – Twitter salutes Erling Haaland as he scores first half hat-trick for Manchester City

Erling Haaland and Manchester City most likely have three points in the bag against newly-promoted side Nottingham Forest as they sat 3-0 up before the half-time whistle. The indomitable forward scored a remarkable first-half hat-trick against Forest, and Twitter erupted in response.

After the Norwegian's move to the Etihad Stadium was announced, many wondered if he would be able to continue the vibrant goalscoring form he managed at Borussia Dortmund. In just five games in the Premier League, Haaland has already scored a stunning nine goals.

The forward has now broken the record for the best start to the Premier League in terms of goals. He has scored one more goal in five games than Sergio Aguero, who had scored eight. His showing in front of goal this season has certainly played a part in silencing the doubters. With the second half currently underway, the commanding striker may yet score another.

Many football fans have taken to Twitter to react to the impressive showing on display. Fans also noted that Haaland has scored more goals than some Premier League teams so far. Rival fans may have their differences, but they will be hard-pressed to argue against his machine-like goalscoring for Manchester City.

Here is a selection of tweets from stunned football fans:

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Erling Haaland's phenomenal first-half hat-trick for Manchester City

With 12 minutes on the clock, the Norway international found the net with his first goal of the game. A well-taken cross from Phil Foden found the former RBSalzburg man in the six-yard box, and he didn't waste time in converting with a single touch.

The second goal came in the 23rd minute, with the forward picking up the loose ball unmarked in the penalty area and casually placing it into the empty net. Phil Foden's dribble into the final third had drawn the defenders and goalkeeper, and the resulting tackle saw the ball meet the Norwegian, who converted with ease.

The third goal was a header deep in the six-yard box where Haaland was the first to get to a cut-back header from John Stones.The new Manchester City signing powered the ball into the net with a point-blank header with just 38 minutes of game time played.

At the time of writing, City were 5-0 up with a little over 10 minutes left to play. Joao Cancelo and Julian Alvarez joined Haaland on the scoresheet.