Haaland isn't even City's top player right now

The Athletic ranks Manchester City's squad every month on current importance to the team, not reputation or past output, and this one makes for an interesting read. Erling Haaland misses out on top spot. Phil Foden, meanwhile, is flagged for a slow start to the campaign.

On the numbers alone, that's a genuine conversation starter. Premier League figures put Haaland at 450 minutes so far this season, with 5 goals and an xG of 4.42, a return that's actually ahead of the expected-goals model rather than behind it. Zero assists sits alongside that, and his defensive contribution reads as minimal: 0 tackles from those 450 minutes, though 10 combined clearances, blocks and interceptions and 10 ball recoveries show he's not entirely a passenger off the ball.

The context behind the numbers

Compare that to last season, when Haaland racked up 27 goals and 8 assists in 2,953 Premier League minutes, with an xG of 25.5. He's scoring at a rate that would still flatter most strikers in Europe. The Athletic's ranking isn't questioning his output, it's measuring something else: how central he currently is to the way Pep Guardiola's side are winning matches.

That distinction matters more this season than most. Manchester City sit top of the Premier League with a perfect five from five, 15 points and a goal difference of +8, the kind of start that usually has one obvious headline act. Instead, The Athletic's framing suggests the team's early dominance is coming from somewhere other than the usual script of Haaland finishing and Foden creating.

Foden's quiet start

Foden's inclusion in the piece as a player with a slow start to the season is the other half of the story. No specific numbers are given for him in this reporting, but the signal is clear enough: one of City's most gifted attackers hasn't found his usual rhythm, and it's showing up in how the club's own beat reporters are ranking the squad.

None of this reads as crisis talk. City are unbeaten and sat first in the table. But a squad ladder that leaves out the Golden Boot winner and flags a key creator for a sluggish opening says plenty about how Guardiola's side are actually winning right now: collectively, rather than off the back of two obvious superstars.