Erling Haaland says when Kevin De Bruyne is on the pitch, he is confident that he will pick out the perfect pass for him.
The Belgian midfielder, who came on for Manchester City in the 57th minute against Everton set up Haaland’s second goal of the day with a lovely pass on the counter-attack.
While Erling Haaland was anonymous for much of the contest, he came alive once again after Kevin De Bruyne picked him out in acres of space, before he danced past Jarrad Branthwaite and slotted the ball past Jordan Pickford to spearhead his side to victory.
Erling Haaland says Kevin De Bruyne is a “perfect” passer
Unfortunately for Pep Guardiola, the dynamic duo have started a mere three games in tandem due to the midfield maestro’s lengthy spell out of action due to a hamstring injury.
One of those games is City’s 3-0 win against Burnley in the opening game of the season, where De Bruyne was hooked off due to a recurring injury, which means the pair have played just over 200 minutes of football together this campaign.
But as Erling Haaland was fed by Kevin De Bruyne once again in Manchester City’s 2-0 win against Everton, he complimented his passing as well as his understanding with him.
“I try to do the same runs with everyone but with him, it’s a bit more like I know I’m going to get it perfect. I know the ball is going to come”, he said (via Manchester City’s official website).
“You can see I don’t even look at the ball for two seconds when he has it because I’m focusing on running towards the goal.”
“That’s the difference, nothing bad towards other players, but it’s the small difference of knowing that the ball will come.”
Erling Haaland also revealed he understands where Kevin De Bruyne will play his passes due to years of watching him.
“It’s more natural. For me, I watch a lot of football so I already saw for a number of years where he plays the ball and he hasn’t changed anything about where he plays it in the last five years.”
“For me, it was about coming in and finishing those actions.”
The Manchester City maestro is every striker’s dream
Ultimately, Kevin De Bruyne, like any world-class creator has a knack for understanding a striker’s movement and as a result, he has been able to make life easier for Erling Haaland at Manchester City.
The same is the case with how the five-time Premier League winner also finds Julian Alvarez in space at will.
Kevin De Bruyne’s exemplary vision and final ball seem to make Erling Haaland feel at ease as he stated that sooner rather than later, he expects to get an opportunity to put the ball in the back of the net.
Against Everton, the inevitable took place as Haaland took his tally to 16 goals in the Premier League this season.
