'I've seen many top strikers - Haaland is storming into a league of his own as Man City beat Bournemouth'

When it comes to purely goalscoring, however, Erling Haaland is in a league of his own. The Manchester City star produced another powerful performance on Sunday, scoring twice as Pep Guardiola's side beat Bournemouth 3-1 to boost their hopes of Premier League title glory.

To think there were some who questioned the Norway international last term. Despite scoring 38 goals, some felt his manager's system was stifling him and that, perhaps, his best could be produced away from the Etihad Stadium.

But Haaland has never considered leaving City and, as links to Real Madrid start to surface, why would they ever want to let him go?

The 25-year-old has been nothing short of sensational since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2022. His 52 goals in 53 games won City the treble and, at the current rate, he might even better that staggering total.

Bournemouth have been brilliant this season and went into the game with genuine confidence they could get something.

Yet talk of a title challenge will now die down, with Haaland scoring twice in the first-half with unnerving composure to steer his side to victory.

The statistics, certainly, suggest he's on the verge of etching his name into the history books once again.

He has netted 26 goals for club and country since the start of the campaign. Furthermore, he's got 13 league goals - seven clear of Antoine Semenyo, who was surprisingly subdued during Sunday's match.

Nico O'Reilly scored City's third goal of the game, with the youngster continuing to win Guardiola's trust.

And with the hosts dominatig proceedings, Guardiola even decided to take Haaland off while on a hat-trick - something that will frustrate even the very best.

This, without a doubt, was a statement of intent from the home side.

The common consensus seems to be that they're not the same team of old. That's true, with some even suggesting they miss the magic of Kevin De Bruyne following his emotional departure back in the summer.

But with Haaland in this sort of form, and with City beating Bournemouth so comfortably, there's a sense that they could still challenge for the title.

Guardiola's men will be hoping to secure another win when they face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday night. They've got seven points to their name and are yet to lose in Europe.

As for Bournemouth, Andoni Iraola's men will be aiming to bounce back and move on from today's result when they lock horns with Aston Villa next Sunday (8pm).