IF Erling Haaland continues his current rate of scoring, he will end 2022-23 with 67 Premier League goals – shattering the single-season record of 34, which was set by Andy Cole and then Alan Shearer in the mid-1990s, when the campaign comprised of 42 games, rather than the current 38.

And if Haaland can maintain his strike-rate beyond the this season, it will take him less than four years to eclipse Shearer’s all-time Premier League record of 260 goals.

No one can reasonably expect The Norwegian to continue to plunder at such speed – there will come a regression at some stage. Even so, his start to life in English football has been truly astonishing.

But Haaland is not the only Manchester City player setting a record pace this season. Kevin De Bruyne already has eight Premier League assists to his name, from just eight appearances, putting him on track to smash the record for assists in a season – which he currently shares with Thierry Henry at 20.

And the fact that both Haaland and De Bruyne have been productive in their respective roles to previously unseen levels is no coincidence. Each has weaponised the other.

“It’s insane, the passes, we find each other,” Haaland enthused of his compatibility with De Bruyne after City’s 6-3 derby demolition of Manchester United at the Etihad on Sunday.

“I have only been at the club a couple of months, but the chemistry feels so natural. This may be the best part.

“It’s natural that I go on the run and he finds me. When this feels natural, there is nothing better.”

The second goal of Haaland’s hat-trick against United perfectly encapsulated not only the way in which the City striker is receiving the chance-creating service of dreams from De Bruyne but also how Haaland’s uniqueness as a target for De Bruyne’s passes makes the midfielder a more potent creator.

Breaking downfield in the inside-right area of the pitch, De Bruyne drove to within 25 yards of United’s goal and then produced a pass of breath-taking quality to find Haaland at the far post.

It was the type of ball that has become the Belgian’s speciality – a low, flat and driven pass that, despite being struck from a relatively narrow, central position, has the lethality of a cross from the wing that flashes across the turf into the space between the opposition’s goalkeeper and backline. De Bruyne’s carefully measured pass curled around Raphael Varane, Haaland’s nearest marker, and into the so-called “corridor of uncertainty” that defenders so dread.

Haaland’s slid to meet it, his left leg extending as he threw himself into the six-yard box and side-footed the ball into David de Gea’s net.

Despite the quality of the pass, the finish was anything but simple. The way Haaland dispatched it demonstrated how his rare combination size, speed and athleticism means his team-mates have a wider target radius into which to aim their chance-creating passes than would be the case with any other striker. Haaland bursts into space faster, leaps higher and is more able to stretch and contort himself to reach the ball than anyone else.

His late winner against his former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in September was another prime example of how Haaland is a uniquely skilled target. This time it was full-back Joao Cancelo who picked him out, curling a cross to the back post that seemed both too high to reach with a foot and an awkward height to stoop and head.

Not for Haaland. The 6ft 4 forward sprung into the air and twisted his body to thump the ball into the goal with the outside of his left boot.

Additionally, Haaland’s presence at the point of City’s attack has meant De Bruyne is less relied upon as a goal-scorer. Last season, the 31-year-old was the highest league scorer for the champions, with a career-high 15 goals from 30 appearances. Now, with the Norwegian goal machine ahead of him, De Bruyne can place greater focus on his finest attribute – his creativity.

“Kevin scored a lot of goals last season,” manager Pep Guardiola said after City’s 3-0 win over Wolves last month. “But this year he is more about assists than goals.”

Five of De Bruyne’s 10 total assists so far this term have been for Haaland. The devastating understanding the pair have so quickly established is set to see them end the season as dominant in the record books as City have been in the Premier League.