Inevitable Erling Haaland reclaims Dream Team throne with five-goal exhibition at Luton

PRIOR to Manchester City’s trip to Kenilworth Road on Tuesday night, it was Bukayo Saka (£5.9m) who sat atop the Dream Team rankings.

On 271 points after another impressive showing against Newcastle, the Arsenal winger held a slender lead over Phil Foden (£5.7m), who moved onto 267 points with his winner against Bournemouth.

Some gaffers may have even seen contest for top spot as a two-horse race between the England internationals as third-placed Erling Haaland (£7.5m) was a further 25 points adrift of his team-mate after the weekend’s action.

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But Dream Team bosses should know by now that the Norwegian poacher is capable of extraordinary feats.

Selected to start against Luton in the FA Cup fifth round, he scored FIVE goals in a 6-2 win to bank 34 points and reclaim his place on the Dream Team throne.

Having scored his 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th goals of the season in all competitions, Haaland is now five points clear of Saka and nine ahead of Foden.

The prolific 23-year-old produced one of his best ever performances at the Hatters’ expense, an exhibition of movement, strength, pace, hold-up play and finishing.

Incredibly, four of his goals were assisted by Kevin De Bruyne (£6.2m).

The Belgian playmaker has registered 11 assists in ten appearances since returning from injury – that boils down further to one every 49 minutes!

Tuesday night’s remarkable outcome is what happens when a generational goalscorer combines with a world-class creator under the watch of a master tactician.

Dream Team managers would have been well aware of De Bruyne and Haaland’s attributes but this latest display from the pair comes as a timely reminder of their combined pedigree.

City’s No9 features in 78.7% of teams and it goes without saying that the 21.3% of gaffers who missed out on his 40-point haul in Gameweek 25 (he notched six against the Cherries) are now firmly behind the eight ball.

Even those who have Haaland in their XI but didn’t captain him this Gameweek have been heavily punished.

Haaland averages 9.9 points-per-game in 2023/24 – only two other players, the aforementioned Saka and the injury-prone Michael Olise (£4.1m), average more than eight points-per-game.

Joao Pedro (£4.3m) and Mohamed Salah (£6.7m) are his closest rivals in terms of goals scored but the pair are now eight behind on 19 each.

He’s also in a league of his own for shots on target (worth one point each).

MOST SHOTS ON TARGET THIS SEASON (ALL COMPS):

• Erling Haaland – 68
• Darwin Nunez – 50
• Mohamed Salah – 43
• Phil Foden – 43
• Julian Alvarez – 43
• Ollie Watkins – 40
• Matheus Cunha – 37
• Cole Palmer – 37
• Jarrod Bowen – 35
• Bruno Fernandes – 34

Man City face Manchester United and Copenhagen in Gameweek 26 and it will take a brave (foolish) gaffer to captain anyone other than Haaland.

He is inevitable.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk