Striker Erling Haaland praised the talent of teammate Kevin De Bruyne after the 2-0 victory over Everton in round 24 of the Premier League.
At Etihad Stadium yesterday February 10, Erling Haaland scored the second goal in the 85th minute. From Kevin De Bruyne’s through ball, the Norwegian striker accelerated, pressed his face, causing midfielder Jarrad Branthwaite to fall and then put his left foot back. far corner.
After the match, Haaland said he liked speeding up and rushing straight into the middle like that and said he should have scored in a similar situation in the 3-1 win at Brentford on February 5. “I succeeded in this match. It’s good because it shows improvement,” he expressed.
The score-setting goal was also the first time De Bruyne assisted Haaland this season. “I try to make runs like that with all players, but with De Bruyne I know the ball will be perfect,” said the Norwegian striker. “You can see I don’t even look at the ball for two seconds when De Bruyne is in control, because I’m concentrating on running towards goal. Nothing bad with the other players, but it’s a small difference “.
Before that, in the 71st minute, it was Haaland who opened the score for Man City. From a chaotic situation in the penalty area, the ball fell to the Norwegian striker. His powerful swing of his right leg from close range left goalkeeper Jordan Pickford unable to stop even if he touched the ball.
“I’ve been working on my right leg for the past few months,” Haaland said. “This is a great feeling, playing again and playing at home. It’s a great feeling to win.”
This double marks Haaland’s perfect return, after missing ten matches in all competitions due to a foot injury from the 0-1 loss at Aston Villa on December 6. Thanks to that, he continues to lead the Premier League top scorer list this season with 16 goals, two goals more than Mohamed Salah (Liverpool). “It’s bad to be injured. I don’t like it,” Haaland said. “But it makes you appreciate the daily training, the pre-match team meetings and the nervousness of going into competition. It makes your mind think differently. Now I really appreciate every training session.” Because I know what it feels like to not have it.”
Last season, Haaland exploded with 52 goals in 53 matches in all competitions, helping Man City win the treble with the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup. But the Norwegian striker believes that Man City will not be able to repeat that feat this season.
Similarly, coach Pep Guardiola also believes that 99.99% of Man City will not be able to win the treble like last season. “It’s a fairy tale. Everything is very complicated,” the 53-year-old coach expressed. “If it were easy, Man Utd would have done it before. The players know how difficult it is. What I like is that we are still competing for titles and hopefully we can continue that until end of the season”.