While Liverpool began to show notable chinks in the armour before the international break, Manchester City looked to be back to their frightening best, after initially wobbling at the very start of the new Premier League campaign.

Since suffering two defeats in a row in August, Pep Guardiola’s men have gone on to win five matches in all competitions, amid a seven-game unbeaten streak that included a comprehensive 3-0 drubbing of Ruben Amorim’s Red Devils in yet another one-sided Manchester Derby.

Unsurprisingly, Erling Haaland has been City’s reliable goal machine once more as they now sit just three points shy of the Premier League summit.

With a goal next to his name in the break too for Norway, it looks very unlikely – moving forward – that the lethal 25-year-old will suddenly suffer a dip in form, as he only looks to strengthen his tag as City’s main marksman even more.

Erling Haaland's unbelievable start to the season

Staggeringly, Haaland can now boast an other-worldly tally of 19 goals across his last ten games for club and country, with wild claims from the Spanish media once upon a time that he is a “cyborg” in front of goal very much ringing true.

Nine of those efforts have come in the bread and butter of the Premier League this season, with this effort against Brentford last time out – which was put away with strength and class in equal measure – taking the robotic 25-year-old to an absurd 94 goals in total in the punishing division.

Of course, there will be slight worries about his injury record and whether that could derail this unbelievable stretch of form down the line, with Haaland going on to miss 21 games overall across City’s last two seasons, owing to injury concerns popping up.

Having sat out Norway’s last friendly contest, though, he should be sharp and ready to return to Premier League action very soon as the notorious goalscoring beast he is.

Amazingly, despite reaching these superhuman levels for the Citizens, there is another player at Guardiola’s disposal who has been compared to his insane levels.

Man City have found the "Haaland of defenders"

In all fairness, while Haaland does often steal the headlines for his ridiculous goalscoring prowess, City’s recent spree of Premier League title wins – before Arne Slot’s Liverpool took over – wasn’t all just down to the individual brilliance of the number nine.

Indeed, football is a team sport after all, with Haaland no doubt blessed to have lined up alongside the likes of Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, and many other sublime attacking partners since joining the illustrious club in 2022.

Yet, it’s Josko Gvardiol who has been dubbed the “Haaland of defenders” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, with the Croat very rarely looking out of place in City’s first-team set-up himself, since leaving the Bundesliga behind in 2023, much like his Nordic teammate’s route.

In total, now for Guardiola’s giants, the ex-RB Leipzig warrior has picked up 103 appearances across three seasons, with one performance during his debut campaign in England even seeing ex-footballer Steph Houghton refer to the Zagreb-born star as “flawless.”

Games played

69

Minutes played

5947

Goals scored

9

Assists

2

Pass accuracy

4524 (90%)

Duels won

309

He has certainly looked composed and assured this season, even when things haven’t entirely gone City’s way, with an unerring pass accuracy averaged this campaign in league action coming in at a high 91%.

Similarly, Haaland has never looked fazed by City dropping points here and there, with the ice-cold number nine actually benefitting from a superb Gvardiol through ball against Brentford to seal that 1-0 win.

Also, despite being a defender by trade, the much-loved number 24 has very much proven to be a hit in terms of popping up with a big goal on occasion.

Of course, he is nowhere near Haaland’s extraordinary ability in this department, but the Croat did suddenly spark into life at the close of his debut season when scoring four goals across his team’s last seven games to secure a Premier League title triumph.

As City attempt to lick their wounds and challenge for Premier League titles once more, Guardiola will know he needs Gvardiol to be this exceptional version of himself across the rest of the challenging top-flight marathon, alongside an equally untouchable Haaland.