Though they may not top the table, Pep Guardiola and his Man City side will be happy that they were able to add another win under their belt against their rivals Manchester United on Sunday. In front of a home crowd, they were 6-3 victors thanks to two hat-tricks from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
In doing so, Haaland and Foden became only the third pairing in Premier League history to both score hattricks in the same match. The derby also included strong performances from Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake at the back and Kevin de Bruyne, who got a hat-trick of assists.
Guardiola's side has been undergoing an evolution this season after finally adding the number nine many thought they needed to finally win every trophy. And based on their early form this season, it seems like the money spent on Haaland was money well spent, but the rest of the team has been firing on all cylinders too.
READ MORE: Erling Haaland is already speeding towards two records after Man City hat-trick vs Manchester United
So let's have a look at the top five City players currently according to Whoscored's rankings:
5. Joao Cancelo
Cancelo took the number seven shirt this season, which is strange for a full-back, but he is silencing the doubters every single match with how influential he is going forward. He has only one goal to his name so far, but he is a constant threat down the left-hand side (or the right depending on injuries) and it's likely he will only add to this as the season progresses.
4. Phil Foden
With five goals and two assists so far, Foden has formed a formidable partnership with Haaland; as was shown in the Manchester Derby. The English midfielder/winger has continued to build on the form that first caught the eye of Guardiola while he was in the academy and he seems undroppable at this point.
3. Jack Grealish
The £100m price tag still weighs heavily over his head, but Guardiola has had faith in Grealish and the English winger is repaying it with a number of good performances. He may not be getting a high number of goals and assists, but his dribbling and ability to win fouls are invaluable.
With a packed calendar in October, he will get game time and you'd expect that his confidence will only grow after a good performance against United on Sunday.
2. Kevin de Bruyne
A City power ranking without De Bruyne is like a beach without the sea. Only through injury is the Belgian ever not part of City's best performers and this consistently high level is why he will likely be considered a legend once he retires.
He registered a hattrick of assists against United and could have easily had more; this means he is now leading the Premier League assist charts with eight so far. However, only one man can top the charts so far...
1. Erling Haaland
Fans, pundits and players alike are running out of ways to describe Haaland. The striker has played eight games in the Premier League so far, scoring 14 goals and registering three assists.
If he keeps up his current scoring rate he would be projected to score 66 goals, smashing the current Premier League record. Though he would have liked to go to the World Cup, City fans will be silently cheering that Haaland will get a month's rest while his rivals head off to Qatar, which will hopefully keep him fresh for the second half of the season.
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