Erling Haaland reclaiming Dream Team throne from Mohamed Salah one goal at a time

ERLING HAALAND (£7.6m) has returned to the top of the Dream Team rankings.

And it may be some time before he is replaced.

Having scored five goals for Norway against Moldova last week, the prolific striker continued his fine start to the season with a brace in Sunday’s Manchester derby.

Haaland banked 18 points by the time he was subbed off for a standing ovation, making him Gameweek 4’s top performer as things stand.

Pep Guardiola’s side carved through Ruben Amorim’s troops time and time again at the Etihad and the hosts’ No9 came ever so close to a genuine mega haul.

Haaland produced two expert finishes but inexplicably missed a big chance from three yards out in the 55th minute.

He was also denied an assist when Tijani Reijnders (£4.6m) skewed his dink wide of the far post having been put clean through.

But Dream Team managers shouldn’t lament lost points when the player in question provides a juicy double-digit return.

Those who captained Haaland over Mohamed Salah (£7.2m) will be satisfied with the weekend’s events but the outlook could change in midweek when the league phase of the Champions League gets underway.

Liverpool will face Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night while Man City are due to host Napoli on Thursday.

It’s impossible not to compare Haaland and Salah as the pair started the campaign as Dream Team’s joint-most expensive players.

Many gaffers felt they could only afford one of the superstar forwards and at this stage, Haaland is 19 points clear of his Egyptian counterpart.

At the time of writing, his closest rivals are Jurrien Timber (£4.9m) and Antoine Semenyo (£4.6m).

MOST DREAM TEAM POINTS AT THIS STAGE

• 48 pts – Erling Haaland
• 43 pts – Jurrien Timber
• 39 pts – Antoine Semenyo
• 37 pts – Joao Pedro
• 37 pts – Moises Caicedo
• 37 pts – Trevoh Chalobah
• 37 pts – Lucas Paqueta
• 37 pts – Riccardo Calafiori

Haaland has now scored five goals across his first four games of the season.

Rather ominously, his record extends to 11 goals in six appearances when including internationals.

The 25-year-old is the most popular player in the game with an ownership of 45.7% but that still means over half of all gaffers are without him right now.

Gameweek 5 brings a tough test for Haaland in the form of a trip to the Emirates to face an Arsenal side famed for their defensive resilience.

And it’s likely he will be rested for City’s Carabao Cup game against Huddersfield three days later.

But his fixtures from Gameweek 6 onwards, starting with a home game versus Burnley, appear hugely inviting.

As is often the case, Haaland feels essential and may even be a set-and-forget captain for the foreseeable future.