HERE at Dream Team HQ we have long abandoned the pretence that Erling Haaland (£9.3m) faces any credible competition in the realm of Dream Team this season.
Marcus Rashford (£6.8m) threatened to make it a two-horse race briefly but Manchester City’s No9 seemed to take that notion personally and he’s since opened up a 92-point lead over his cross-town rival at the top of the rankings.
And so, in search of tension in relation to the Norwegian’s exploits, we’ve been forced to consult the history books.
Cristiano Ronaldo holds the all-time record for most points in a single campaign – the Portuguese superstar amassed a whopping 477 points in 2007/08.
In fact, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is the only man to ever register 400+ points.
A quadruple century looks a formality for Haaland at this stage.
The 22-year-old added a further 22 points to his tally this Game Week at the expense of Southampton and Bayern Munich.
A brace against Saints returned 12 points while a goal and assist versus the Bavarian giants produced ten more.
Haaland has banked 83 points in his last four outings, which is incredible even by his standards.
With 366 points to his name, he’s 34 shy of becoming just the second player ever to rack up 400 in a season – only an significant injury in the next few days will deny him that taste of history.
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Whether he can overhaul Ronaldo’s imposing record is another matter and his chances may hinge on City’s progression in the Champions League and FA Cup.
If Pep Guardiola’s side were to combust in Munich and give up their three-goal aggregate lead before suffering a shock defeat to Sheffield United at Wembley – a severely unlikely double – then Haaland would be have ten games remaining from this point.
He would therefore need to average 11.1 points-per-game to make up the 111 needed to level Ronaldo’s total – not beyond Haaland but a tough ask.
For reference, he averages 9.6 points-per-game in 2022/23 to date.
Assuming City convert their significant advantage over Bayern and qualify for the semi-finals before getting past the Blades, Haaland would have 13 games at his disposal.
City’s prolific poacher would therefore need to average 8.54 points-per-game to claim the record – very achievable.
Now let’s say Guardiola’s men reach the Champions League final as well as the FA Cup final, that would give Haaland 14 fixtures, which would allow for an average of 7.93 points-per-game to topple Ronaldo.
These scenarios assume Haaland will start every available game which may not be the case – it wouldn’t be that surprising if Julian Alvarez (£4.2m) led the line in the FA Cup semi-final, for example.
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But with City chasing a treble, their top scorer is assured the vast majority of minutes if fit.
Ronaldo’s record, which once looked unassailable, is very much under threat.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
