Erling Haaland: Does He Really Only Score Tap-Ins?
Erling Haaland is a footballing anomaly. At just 25 years old, the Norwegian “cyborg” has already scored over 300+ career goals. A ruthless finisher with absurd physicality, explosive acceleration, elite positioning, and a natural instinct for where the ball will drop — Haaland is built to score. Few players in history have combined volume, efficiency, and consistency the way he has at such a young age.
And yet, a common criticism persists: “Haaland only scores tap-ins.”
What Exactly Is a Tap-In?
A tap-in refers to a goal where the striker has nothing left to do but push the ball into the net — typically after a collective action created by teammates. From an analytical standpoint, a tap-in is a finish where the attacker eliminates only one opponent: the goalkeeper. No dribbles, no additional defenders beaten — just a simple final touch.
With traditional stats like goals and assists (G/A), it has never been possible to objectively measure whether a striker scores mostly tap-ins or not. Most of the public narrative relies on visual impressions, which are naturally biased by team style and player profile.
Enter Goal Contribution (gC)
With goal contribution, which quantifies a player’s impact based on the number of opponents eliminated on every scoring action, we can finally study tap-ins rigorously.
Under this framework, a tap-in corresponds to a finish where the striker eliminates:
- 1 opponent → the goalkeeper only.
Anything above 1 means the player actively overcame additional defenders to score.
Haaland’s Analysis — Premier League, 2025-26 Season (After 10 Matchdays)
We analysed all of Haaland’s scoring actions in the Premier League after 10 games this season.
- Haaland was involved in 15 scoring actions
- He finished 13 of them
- He averaged 2.67 opponents eliminated per scoring action
- He posted 40.07% contribution
- He accumulated a total of 6.01 gC
This makes him not only the top scorer, but also the top goal contributor in the league.
Does He Only Score Tap-Ins?
The data answers clearly: No.
An average of 2.67 opponents eliminated is far above the threshold of 1 associated with tap-ins. This means that when Haaland receives the ball, he often needs to beat one or two defenders in addition to the goalkeeper to score.
Comparison with Other Elite Strikers (2025-26 Season)
To contextualize Haaland’s numbers, we looked at two other world-class forwards in exceptional form this season.
Kylian Mbappé — La Liga
- 17 scoring actions
- 13 goals
- 2.24 opponents eliminated per action
Mbappé’s ratio is significantly lower than Haaland’s 2.67 — despite the visual historical impression that Mbappé creates his own goals more often. It’s also important to note that Mbappé has scored 3 penalties, which count as tap-ins (only the goalkeeper is eliminated). In fact, Haaland has scored 0 penalties this season in the Premier League.
Harry Kane — Bundesliga
- 12 goals in 9 matches
- 2.33 opponents eliminated per scoring action
Kane ranks slightly above Mbappé, but still far from Haaland’s contribution level.
Conclusion
No — Erling Haaland does not only score tap-ins. Not this season, and not according to the data.
His goal contribution profile shows that he consistently eliminates multiple defenders while finishing, disproving the narrative that he merely pushes the ball over the line.
The numbers highlight a striker who isn’t just prolific — but decisively impactful in the creation of his own goals.
NB: In goal contribution, eliminating a defender does not necessarily come from dribbling past him. A defender can be eliminated through a shot, a won duel, or any action that removes him from influencing the play. So even though Haaland is not a high-volume dribbler, his elevated contribution values often come from scoring in situations where his strike eliminates one or two defenders in addition to the goalkeeper, or from finishing after winning a physical duel. This is a key nuance that explains why his gC profile remains extremely high despite his playing style.