Kevin De Bruyne says even he has surprised himself in returning from his hamstring surgery so seamlessly to re-establish his telepathic understanding with Erling Haaland.
Four of Haaland’s five goals in their FA Cup victory over Luton came from assists from De Bruyne. Luton’s man-for-man approach resulted in a rough evening at Kenilworth Road.
Kevin De Bruyne says even he has surprised as re-establish his telepathic understanding with Erling Haaland
De Bruyne assisted four of Haaland’s five goals in their 6-2 FA Cup victory against Luton Town
Ahead of their Premier League match this Sunday, City sent a warning to Erik ten Hag and Manchester United by defeating them 6-2. The unlucky defender assigned to bring down Haaland was 21-year-old Teden Mengi.
There was no stopping the striker when being fed by the brilliant De Bruyne, who is now on 12 assists despite missing six months of the season through his injury.
One of Haaland’s five goals involved him holding up a long ball, giving it to De Bruyne, turning and sprinting forward without ever looking back – because he knew the assist was coming. While it was a brave plan from Luton, it was one ultimately undone by this deadliest of duos as they gratefully accepted the space they were afforded.
De Bruyne told the media afterwards: ‘I did not worry (about his hamstring injury) but I did not expect to come back in this way, if I am being honest.
‘It was one of those games where you get a lot of one-v-ones and there’s a lot of space. If you can find the right angles, you get a lot of opportunities. We figured out a way to hurt them and Erling scored the goals so it was good.
‘If you play quickly, it’s very hard because they control it more but once you get the understanding of keeping the ball for a little bit more it’s hard for them and there’s a lot of space. That’s the way they play. It’s hard but we figured out a way.’
It was in January that De Bruyne returned to competitive football for the first time since August and he continued: ‘I feel good. Only against Brentford, I was a little tired and I had a kick on my other hamstring. I wanted to make sure I didn’t risk that but I feel fine and I hope to maintain that.
‘Normally I just play on but that’s mostly been my downfall before. In a way, I try to take care of myself but I also make decisions. Since I came back, my hamstring for the surgery has been great so I’m very happy about that. But I know if you don’t play for six months and come back, you’re going to get niggles everywhere else. it’s normal and it’s fine.’
De Bruyne suffered a hamstring injury in the first game of the season against Burnley in August
After the win in the FA Cup, Pep Guardiola’s side have a season-defining March ahead of them
City have a season-defining March ahead of them – facing United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, then Copenhagen in the Champions League, then Liverpool, Brighton, Arsenal and Aston Villa all in the Premier League. The FA Cup’s quarter-finals will also be played in mid-March with the draw set to be conducted on Wednesday evening.
On the Manchester derby, De Bruyne added: ‘We are doing well, winning most of the games. It’s hard because every opponent gives something else. Bournemouth and Luton play man vs man and Copenhagen is more tight. It’s still a derby and I know sometimes they do well when they have been struggling and we will try to give a good performance on Sunday.’