MANCHESTER — Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe are all scoring at better than a goal-a-game rates in a blistering start to the season from Europe’s top three marksmen.

Ahead of their return to Champions League action this week, the trio are already battling at the top of the charts to be the competition’s top scorer and making the early running in a World Cup campaign for next year’s Ballon d’Or.

AFP Sports looks at the astonishing stats all three strikers are producing for both club and country.

Erling Haaland (Man City and Norway)

Haaland’s leads the way with 23 goals in 13 games to haul City back into contention for the Premier League and Norway to the brink of their first World Cup since 1998.

Only once has Haaland failed to find the net this season and he has struck in all of his last 11 matches.

The 25-year-old scored twice against Everton on Saturday to take his Premier League tally for the campaign to 11.

Haaland now boasts the three quickest occasions any Premier League player has reached 10 goals in a season after doing so in six matches in 2022 and five games last season.

“If you are building from scratch what you want as the ideal centre-forward, look at Haaland,” said the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer Alan Shearer.

“He has goals, pace, strength, is good in the air. Doesn’t mind being roughed up, it doesn’t bother him if he doesn’t have many touches. He is almost perfect.”

Previously he has been questioned in his homeland for not reproducing his prolific club form for Norway.

Those complaints have been washed away as Haaland has struck 12 times in six qualifiers to finally take a golden generation towards his first major international tournament.