According to Kevin De Bruyne, even he has surprised himself with the ease with which he has returned from his hamstring surgery and reestablished his telepathic understanding with Erling Haaland.
The plan of Luton, which consisted of going man-for-man, resulted in a rough evening at Kenilworth Road, and De Bruyne was responsible for four of Haaland’s five goals that were scored in their FA Cup victory over Luton.
Teden Mengi, who is only 21 years old, was the unfortunate defender who was charged with bringing down Haaland. City won 6-2 against that tactical strategy in order to send a message to Erik ten Hag and Manchester United before their Premier League match on Sunday.
When the striker was being supplied by the excellent De Bruyne, who is now on 12 assists despite missing six months of the season due to his injury, there was no way to stop him from scoring goals.
One of Haaland’s five goals was accomplished by him holding up a long ball, passing it to De Bruyne, turning and racing ahead without ever looking back – because he knew the assist was going to come. Although it was a courageous move on Luton’s part, it was ultimately undone by the most dangerous of duos, who eagerly welcomed the space that was made available to them thanks to their efforts.
Kevin De Bruyne says even he has surprised himself in returning from his hamstring surgery so seamlessly for Man City to 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
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
Following their victory in the FA Cup, Pep Guardiola’s team has a month of March that will determine the course of the season.
In the month of March, City will face United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, then they will play Copenhagen in the Champions League, and finally, they will play Liverpool, Brighton, Arsenal, and Aston Villa all in the Premier League. This can be considered a season-defining month for City. It is also scheduled that the quarterfinals of the FA Cup will be contested in the middle of March, and the draw is scheduled to take place on Wednesday evening.
De Bruyne continued by saying, “We are doing well, winning most of the games.” This was in reference to the Manchester derby. The fact that every opponent brings something different makes it difficult. Bournemouth and Luton engage in man-versus-man competition, but Copenhagen is more competitive. We will make an effort to give a solid performance on Sunday because it is still a derby, and I am aware that there are occasions when they perform well when they have been having a difficult time.