Are Manchester City rediscovering the form that made them simply unstoppable not so long ago?
In the Champions League, the Sky Blues have now accumulated seven points from nine matches, following Tuesday night's commanding 2-0 victory over Villarreal; Erling Braut Håland and Bernardo Silva on target during the first half at Estadio de la Cerámica.
Meantime, in the Premier League, having collected 13 points from the last 15 available, the Citizens have climbed up to second, looking to continue their winning streak at Villa Park on Sunday.
Some may argue that Pep Guardiola's team are over reliant on one player, although what a player to be reliant on, but could the return of an "extraordinary" talent make the goalbot himself truly unstoppable?
How Erling Haaland compares to Europe's best
We all already knew that Håland was a goal-scoring machine, but he may be taking this to a whole new level this season.
He has netted in each of his last nine international outings, scoring 17 times across these matches in total, while Tuesday's opener in Spain took his tally to 15 club goals for the campaign already.
Erling Haaland celebrates for Man City
Håland is currently averaging a goal every 63 minutes in Manchester City colours this season and, at this current rate, he'll bag 52 in the Premier League alone, annihilating his own single-season record of 36 set in 2022/23.
Across a top five European league and the Champions League, he is actually not the top scorer, level with Kylian Mbappé who also has 15, but both are being outshone by a certain Harry Kane, who is currently on 17.
Nevertheless, Håland's importance to Manchester City is underlined by the fact he has scored 65% of their Premier and Champions League goals this season, while no other player at the club has scored more than a solitary goal across the two competitions.
So, one could certainly argue that Man City are overly reliant on Håland's goal but, if you've got to be reliant on one player, he isn't a bad choice.
So now, which forgotten sky blue star could make the Norwegian truly unstoppable?
Manchester City's new "extraordinary" talent
In 2025, Manchester City have spent around £385m on 11 new signings, the majority of whom have made little impact so far.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
Omar Marmoush did impress after arriving in January, Gianluigi Donnarumma has instantaneously proved why he is considered to be a world-class goalkeeper, while Tijjani Reijnders has been a useful addition to midfield.
However, could Rayan Cherki, who joined from Olympique Lyonnais in June for £34m, prove to be the best of the bunch?
Cherki
Since the start of this season, the Frenchman has seen just 80 minutes of action due to a thigh injury, but has come off the bench towards the end of the last two matches against Everton and Villarreal as he eases back to full fitness.
Having joined hometown club Lyon at the age of seven, Cherki has been touted as a talent to watch for many years, making 185 appearances for les Gones, scoring 29 goals and registering 45 assists, despite still only being 22 years old.
Last season was certainly his most productive in Ligue 1, as the table below documents.
Cherki Ligue 1 stats 2024/25
Stats
Goals
Goals - xG
Assists
Expected assists
Key passes
Big chances created
Passes into area
Progressive passes
Shot-creating actions
Goal-creating actions
Progressive carries
Carries into final third
Stats via FBref& SofaScore
As the table highlights, while he is a goal threat and a high-quality dribbler, Cherki is primarily a creator.
In Ligue 1 last season, he ranked first in all sorts of metrics to support this, namely assists, expected assists, big chances created, passes into the opposition penalty area and shot-creating actions, second only to Désiré Doué in terms of goal-creating actions.
Rayan Cherki
Following his arrival in the summer, Gillian Kasirye of Total Football Analysis asserted that Cherki is the natural heir to Kevin De Bruyne's throne as Manchester City's primary chance creator, ahead of existing players, namely Phil Foden.
Meantime, after the Sky Blues' 4-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on the opening day of the season, the Frenchman marking his Premier League debut with a goal, Guardiola asserted that his talent is "unbelievable", adding that his "creativity in the final third [is] extraordinary".
Well, if this rocket against Spain during June's Nations League semi-finals in Stuttgart doesn't underline what Cherki is capable of, nothing will!
Thus, following an injury-blighted start to life in Manchester, the Frenchman, on his way back to full fitness, will be looking to start making a serious impact.
For now, he'll probably become a mere member of the fabled "Pep rotation" alongside Foden, Jérémy Doku, Oscar Bobb, Bernardo Silva, Savinho, Omar Marmoush and others.
Nevertheless, based on his talent, Cherki should be right at the front of the queue for starting minutes and, if he rediscovers last season's creative numbers, Håland will become truly unstoppable, if he isn't already.