Pep Guardiola is right: Erling Haaland is on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's level when it comes to goal-scoring - and he hasn't even reached his peak

"He has the numbers for Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who controlled the last decade, 15 years, absolutely everything," Guardiola said of his No.9. "In terms of numbers, it is that level. So, I don't know how he does it, but in 100 games scoring 91 goals is something in the Premier League. In this country, it is unbelievable."

Coaches have long been wary about comparing players to Messi or Ronaldo, but Guardiola is perfectly qualified to do so. He oversaw Messi's rise at Barcelona and came up against Ronaldo on numerous occasions in La Liga, the Champions League and the Premier League.

This not a moment of hubris either from the Catalan. He was spot-on in comparing Haaland to Messi and Ronaldo.

Haaland might never catch Messi and Ronaldo in terms of Ballon d'Or awards, especially if Kylian Mbappe has anything to do with it. But in terms of goals scored, he is on their level. In fact, he is actually ahead of them for his age.

Messi is the all-time scorer in Europe's top five leagues on 496 goals, with Ronaldo just behind him on 495. Haaland is on 122, but he has time on his hands. The Norwegian turned 24 in July. Ronaldo left Manchester United to move to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia when he was 37, while Messi departed Paris Saint-Germain for Inter Miami when he had just turned 36.

Haaland, then, has one-quarter of the goals of Messi and Ronaldo amassed and 12 years to make up the ground.

He is on track to catch the pair, and is even slightly ahead of schedule. Taking out the goal he scored against Chelsea, Haaland had scored 152 league goals by his 24th birthday. But if we are to discount Messi and Ronaldo's goals in the Saudi Pro League and MLS, we must also discount Haaland's 14 goals in the Norwegian top flight for Molde and his 17 in the Austrian Bundesliga with Red Bull Salzburg.

That still leaves him with 121 goals by his 24th birthday. Messi, by comparison, had 119 goals in La Liga at the same stage. Ronaldo, who had only played for Sporting CP and Manchester United at this point, was on 77 Premier League goals.

Haaland's goal record for his age is also way better than the other great strikers of the 21st century. Robert Lewandowski was on just 30 Bundesliga goals when he was 24, while Harry Kane was on 78 in the Premier League. If the career paths of Haaland's contemporaries are anything to go by, the Norwegian is just approaching his peak - and that is a frightening prospect indeed.

The only player with more goals in Europe's top-five leagues by the age of 24 is Kylian Mbappe, who had 135 goals in his first seven seasons in Ligue 1, first with Monaco and then with PSG. It should be noted, though, that France is mostly regarded as being the weakest of the 'Big Five'.

The season before Mbappe moved to PSG, Edinson Cavani had scored 35 goals. while previous to that, Zlatan Ibrahimovic had hit 38. Comparatively, before Haaland scored a record-breaking 36 goals in the Premier League in 2022-23, the previous highest count in a 38-game season was 32, scored by Mohamed Salah in 2017-18.

Haaland took Premier League scoring to unprecedented heights, breaking a 28-year-long record when he beat Alan Shearer and Andrew Cole's tally of 34 goals in a single campaign, back when there were 42 games per season.

It is indisputable that Messi and Ronaldo, as well as Mbappe, are better all-round players than Haaland, who lives for goals alone. That might seem a little harsh, as he has 12 assists in the league for City and contributed 19 in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund.

But those numbers pale in comparison to Messi's La Liga record 192 assists while at Barca and his 30 in two seasons in Ligue 1. Ronaldo got 87 assists in La Liga alone and another 37 in the Premier League, while Mbappe had 65 assists in Ligue 1.

Scoring is what Haaland undoubtedly does best and what he is judged on. If he doesn't score and - on the very rare occasion - City do not win, he is more often than not made the scapegoat. So it is a good thing that he is so elite when it comes to putting the ball in the net, and indeed that City are pretty dominant even without him.

Haaland missed two months of last season with an injured foot and City remained unbeaten in his absence, drawing just once. On Sunday, meanwhile, he cheekily referenced his lack of involvement in City's overall play after the win at Stamford Bridge.

“Pep will not like me for saying this, but they don’t need me,” the Norwegian said. “I can just stand there and watch. I want to get more involved, that’s what Pep wants. But in games like this, do I need to be that more involved? That’s the million-dollar question.”

Had Haaland not scored against Chelsea, his game statistics would have been slammed. His pass completion rate was just 38 percent, finding a team-mate on just three of eight attempts. He had two shots and only 17 touches. Four of those touches were part of the goal, a clever piece of control in the area followed by a typically deft shot.

Of course, a lot of what strikers do goes unnoticed; it is not all about lethal shots and towering headers. A good striker like Haaland occupies the defence and gets at them so that their team-mates can take advantage.

Guardiola has pointed that out on the occasions that Haaland has had few touches and not scored, and the man himself echoed those claims in west London. "I want to help the team and make the team work to get players into good positions,” he added. "To get an extra metre for my team-mates. If I can stretch the centre-backs with a run, it’s hard, but it’s my job."

Haaland's job is not glamorous at all times, but all he needs is one positive move to make the difference, as he did at Stamford Bridge. Next up is the type of game he relishes, at home to newly-promoted Ipswich Town.

In his first campaign at City, he scored a hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium against then play-off winners Nottingham Forest. Last season, albeit in the FA Cup, he smashed five goals past Luton. Ipswich will no doubt be bracing themselves for another Haaland exhibition, but the rest of the league has also been warned.

"I had a feeling that he feels better than last season at this stage," Guardiola said. "After last season, he felt a bit so-so or felt he was tired. This season, I think for the Euros unfortunately Norway was not there, there was more rest and yeah, he feels good."

Given Haaland got 27 league goals in a season in which he missed two months with a fractured foot and still seemed to be feeling the effects of the injury after he returned to the pitch, the thought of him being fully fit and refreshed is a warning to every defence and goalkeeper in the Premier League. It should also be a warning to Messi and Ronaldo that Haaland is coming for their records.