With a superb through ball during a counterattack, the Belgian midfielder, who substituted Everton for Manchester City in the 57th minute, assisted Haaland for his second goal of the match.
Erling Haaland was relatively quiet throughout the game, but once Kevin De Bruyne found him in ample space, he regained his momentum. He skillfully maneuvered past Jarrad Branthwaite and slotted the ball past Jordan Pickford to lead his team to victory.
According to Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne is an “excellent” passer.
Unfortunately for Pep Guardiola, the dynamic duo has only started three games together due to the extended absence of the midfield maestro caused by a hamstring injury.
One of those matches was City’s season opener, a 3-0 win against Burnley, where De Bruyne was subbed off due to an ongoing injury. Consequently, the two have played just over 200 minutes of football together this year.
However, in Manchester City’s 2-0 win against Everton, Erling Haaland praised Kevin De Bruyne’s passing ability and understanding of him as he provided another assist.
“With everyone, I try to make the same runs, but with him, it’s like I know I’m going to receive the ball perfectly,” he said, according to Manchester City’s official website.
“I am confident that the ball will arrive,” he added. “You can see that I’m focused on making runs towards the goal and don’t even look at the ball for two seconds when he has it.”
“That’s the difference—not that I’m disrespectful to other players—it’s just the slight advantage of knowing that the ball will eventually come.”
Erling Haaland also revealed that after observing Kevin De Bruyne for years, he knows where he will distribute his passes.
“It feels more natural. Since I watch a lot of football, I’ve observed where he plays the ball for many years, and in the past five years, he hasn’t changed his style.”
“It was just about executing those tasks for me.”
Every striker dreams of playing alongside the Manchester City maestro.
Ultimately, Kevin De Bruyne, like any exceptional playmaker, has a knack for reading a striker’s movement, enabling him to make Erling Haaland’s life easier at Manchester City.
The five-time Premier League champion also finds Julian Alvarez in space whenever he desires.
Erling Haaland appeared more comfortable with Kevin De Bruyne’s exceptional vision and final delivery, expressing his anticipation of having opportunities to score sooner rather than later.
As expected, Haaland scored his 16th Premier League goal of the year against Everton.
