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After netting nine goals in his opening seven fixtures, Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has kicked off the season in spectacular form.

Even though this doesn't represent his strongest opening to a term - he scored 11 goals in his initial seven matches in 2022-23 and ten in the previous campaign - it still puts him three strikes clear in the initial race for this season's Premier League Golden Boot.

What makes this not one of his nine strikes have been from the penalty spot renders it particularly impressive.

Why Haaland Stands Out

Certainly, physical problems might significantly impact in the eventual Golden Boot winner, but there are two key factors why Haaland is such a strong favourite for the prize so early in the season.

Firstly, the quantity of strikes he has currently registered - and, just as importantly, the total and standard of scoring opportunities he's creating.

Secondly, the sluggish beginning his typical competitors for the honor have made.

Expected Goals Analysis

A player's expected goals number (xG) signifies how many goals a Premier League player has typically netted from the quantity and caliber of scoring situations he's encountered.

This doesn't represent a statistic haphazardly selected by statistics boffins, but by Premier League history.

Upon reviewing at attackers' xG statistics in the English top division so far this season from regular situations, the Norwegian striker is obtaining considerably more quality chances to score than anyone else.

Indeed, even if Haaland wasn't superior at scoring from situations than anyone else in the league, he would still have scored significantly more goals as the remainder of the league.

Opportunity Analysis

That is demonstrated by breaking down the quantity and caliber of chances that footballers have received in the Premier League so far.

Haaland has taken 29 shots so far this term, twelve additional compared to every other footballer.

That is actually not particularly unusual for him - he had previously registered more open-play attempts at this stage in the previous two campaigns (30 in the 2023-24 season and 34 in the previous term).

What's particularly remarkable even by his standards is the caliber of opportunities he has had this season. His efforts have had an xG value of 0.27 on average.

What that figure means is that footballers have traditionally scored the attempts he's taken at a 27 percent conversion rate.

Among footballers attempting at ten or more efforts, only Stamford Bridge player Enzo Fernandez has had easier chances to score on average - due to a few simple finishes against West Ham and Brighton.

Haaland's xG of an average of 0.27 is considerably superior than the 0.17 expected goals per attempt he had at the opening of last term.

In short, the chances he has had in the current season have been notably easier to score from in a reorganised City team than those at the opening of last term.

Previous Season Assessment

Opening a term so impressively is, as noted earlier, not unusual for Haaland. After seven games last term he had registered ten strikes - four additional compared to every other footballer and six more than Mohamed Salah.

However, it was the Liverpool forward who claimed the top scorer award with 29 conversions, seven more than the Manchester City striker.

In the new campaign, while Haaland has opened with incredible momentum, Salah has scored half the number goals and had half the chances (xG) than at this stage last season.

In fact this has been the least productive beginning to a English top-flight campaign the Egyptian attacker has made.

Rivals' Slow Start

It's not merely Salah who has begun modestly either. When examining at the eleven leading goalscorers in the Premier League last season, Haaland has scored as many goals as the other 10 players collectively so far.

Be it because of fitness issues - Yoane Wissa, Cole Palmer and Jorgen Strand Larsen - extended transfer dramas in Alexander Isak's case or just due to the fact that their clubs have faced difficulties (several proven attackers), Haaland's probable competitors in the battle for the scoring title have not fired so far.

European Golden Shoe Race

Even as Haaland seems the distinct favorite for the English top scorer award, what about the Continental scoring award that is presented to the footballer scoring the most in the continent's elite divisions?

That competition is significantly tighter at this early stage because two world-class strikers have similarly opened in superb fashion, with eleven and nine strikes correspondingly.

The reality Haaland has registered multiple conversions and has the highest xG of the three players without having taken any penalties positions him as the frontrunner.

But since Kane and Mbappe are among the finest finishers in continental soccer in terms of outperforming their chance quality metrics, the battle continues intensely.