Erling Haaland once again in a league of his own among Dream Team players after Manchester derby clinic

THERE’S a much more familiar feel to the top of the Dream Team rankings after the weekend’s events.

Julian Alvarez (£4.7m), Mohamed Salah (£6.7m) and Bukayo Saka (£4.7m) have all taken turns in the coveted number one spot in recent weeks but Erling Haaland (£7.5m) has reclaimed his crown in emphatic style.

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Manchester City’s No9 has carved out a bracket of his own once again having plundered 19 points at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola’s side put on a clinic against a beleaguered Manchester United outfit to win the derby 3-0, with Haaland scoring twice before he assisted the third.

Only hat-trick hero Eddie Nketiah (£2.4m) registered more points (20) than the Norwegian cyborg at the weekend.

This substantial haul follows on from the 26 points Haaland collected from Gameweek 9, spread over two fixtures against Brighton and Young Boys.

He ended his mini goal drought against the Seagulls before scoring two more in Switzerland in the Champions League.

This explosion of 45 points in the space of two Gameweeks has propelled Haaland to a season total of 131.

All of a sudden, he’s 22 points clear of Salah at the top of the rankings – which is remarkable because Liverpool’s main man has hardly been slacking of late.

So what’s the message here? Haaland is very good – hardly a shocking revelation, is it?

The 23-year-old currently appears in 87.3% of teams, making him the most-popular player in the game by a huge margin.

It’s not like anyone needs convincing of his abilities but the precise nature of his performances should be monitored closely because of the weekly captaincy debate.

Those who opted to double Haaland’s returns these past two Gameweeks received 90 points compared to 45 earned by those who stuck the armband on Salah, Ollie Watkins (£4.7m), etc.

Even accounting for the points scored by the alternative captains, gaffers with maximum faith in Haaland are likely to have benefited from a significant swing.

Looking forward, there are a few favourable fixtures in Gameweek 11 but it’s a brave Dream Team boss who bets against Haaland vs Bournemouth and Young Boys with both those games to take place at the Etihad.

He let his rivals sit on the throne momentarily but it seems as if the king has returned.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk