Can Erling Haaland guide Manchester City to Premier League title this season?

The Norway international is the top scorer in the Premier League.

Manchester City’s 3-1 win against an in-form AFC Bournemouth saw them climb to second place in the Premier League. They are now only six points adrift of Arsenal.

Brace from Erling Haaland and a goal from Nico O’Reilly guided Pep Guardiola’s side to a dominant win. They seem to have once again laid bare their title charge in the league this campaign.

Despite their inconsistent performances, City have managed to remain one of the title contenders this season. It has been mainly due to one man who has spearheaded their attack; scoring goals that can undoubtedly decide City’s fate in the title race.

Erling Haaland is doing what Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo used to do at their respective clubs during their time in Europe, single-handedly dragging the clubs to silverware.

They both were lucky enough to avoid many injuries during their playing career and were influential in driving their sides to the trophies. Can Haaland pull something like this off?

Erling Haaland continues his relentless goalscoring form

Erling Haaland added two more goals to his league record after a brace against Cherries, taking his Premier League tally to 13 goals in the season.

City’s ability to remain in the title contention this season has been down to one man, Haaland. His spectacular ability to score goals this campaign has been incredible, and there is no stopping him. He has been responsible for the majority of City’s goals this league campaign.

Guardiola’s side have been so dependent on the Norway international that their second top goalscorer this season is Maxime Estève, the Burnley defender, following his two own goals in a 5-1 defeat at the Etihad in September.

It will be unfair to point out that Erling Haaland has been the only major contributor to City’s goals this season, as they have many proven winners within the squad. But if you remove Haaland’s goals, then you will barely see City remain in the title race.

Similarly, once, a Manchester United title-winning team relied on Robin van Persie to guide the club to wins. This was even after they had other major contributors, with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernández recording double figures.

A similar situation unfolded at Liverpool last season when Cody Gakpo and Luis Díaz played the Rooney/Hernández role by registering double figures.

Is this a concern & should other players also step up?

Meanwhile, at City, there are barely any player that is closer to Erling Haaland, who has 13 league goals this term. Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders have one apiece, while forwards Savinho, Omar Marmoush, and Jérémy Doku have yet to score in the league this season.

For now, it doesn’t really matter as Erling Haaland will play every match for Pep Guardiola, who knows that he will need the former Borussia Dortmund centre-forward as we head into the crucial phase of the campaign.

Someone tell Erling Haaland it's only November 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/jSN1ZaUUFG

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) November 3, 2025

However, there will come a time when the Spanish manager will have to give some rest to the 25-year-old to recharge, meaning other attacking stars will have to step up in his absence.

There are major concerns about how City will perform in Erling Haaland’s absence, as they don’t have Kevin De Bruyne anymore, while Marmoush has been affected by injuries, and Foden still hasn’t found his form. Is he the same Phil Foden who scored 19 league goals during the 2023-24 season?

Other City players will need to add their value in games, as they cannot continue to rely on Haaland. Meanwhile, for Guardiola, if he keeps his elite goalscorer fit until the end of the season, then we can expect City to continue their title charge.

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