‘No disrespect’ – Man City without Erling Haaland leaves talkSPORT host convinced they don’t need him

Despite their sensational goalscoring record, Manchester City are a better team without Erling Haaland in the team.

That’s according to talkSPORT’s Jamie O’Hara – and the stats suggest he could be onto something.

Since signing for the treble, Haaland has scored an incredible 83 goals in 92 appearances in all competitions over two seasons.

He missed City’s 4-0 win over Brighton on Thursday and their dominant performance led O’Hara to ask his Sports Bar co-host Jason Cundy if they were better without him.

“They’re different, I wouldn’t say better, just different,” Cundy said, but O’Hara responded: “They’re better, they’re winning.

“They score, they are fluid and listen, it’s no disrespect to Haaland because he’s an incredible player, we know that.

“But Manchester City, at the moment, you have to look at the facts, they are a better team without him.”

The statistics show that this is a valid argument, even if Haaland is still considered one of the best players in world football.

In the 61 Premier League matches he played, City won 41, drew 11 and lost seven, with a winning percentage of 70.5.

However, Guardiola’s side won eight of the ten matches they played without him, taking their win rate to 80 percent.

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Their average of goals scored has also improved: 2.4 are scored with him in the team, compared to 2.5 when he does not play.

Additionally, City average 19.3 shots per game without Haaland compared to 16.7 with him.

Even though there is a big difference in the number of matches, it proves that the defending champions can still find a way to win in his absence.

Haaland is unlikely to repeat the 36 league goals he scored last year, but he still tops the charts this season with 20 along with Chelsea star Cole Palmer.

And with five games remaining, he also has time to make even more of an impact on the team as they aim for a fourth consecutive Premier League title.

City are second and just one point behind leaders Arsenal, but will overtake them if they win their game in hand.