Manchester City have survived without Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Halaand and that is a problem for their rivals

Manchester City have survived without Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Halaand and that is a problem for their rivals

Manchester City are still in the hunt for another treble and they’ve put themselves in that position despite injuries to Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.

Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne celebrate during Man City’s win against Everton

Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne are back in tandem at last

It’s been a long time coming, but in the 85th minute of Manchester City’s 36th game of the season, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland finally combined for the first time in 2023/24. A through-ball played with precision and a finish that required strength and then poise, it was a classic combo from the Etihad’s star turns.

 

 

It was Haaland’s second goal of the 2-0 win against Everton and his first since November 28. But also his 20th and 21st of the season in all competitions and he remains the Premier League’s top goalscorer. De Bruyne was providing his fourth assist in as many league games since returning from hamstring surgery.

 

But the fact it has taken until the 10th day of February for the Belgian to create a goal for the Norwegian points to City’s biggest issue this season. De Bruyne has missed 27 of those 36 games and Haaland has missed 10 of them. Losing your two best players for that length of time in a campaign is usually fatal to your ambitions.

 

Not so for City, however. After Pep Guardiola watched his star duo start together at the Etihad for the first time since beating Real Madrid 4-0 in May, he toasted those members of his squad who had kept the show on the road in the meantime.

 

 

Because while De Bruyne and Haaland are now very much back, that they are returning to a team chasing a second successive treble owes plenty to ‘what their mates have done’, as Guardiola said.

 

The edgy win against the Toffees on Saturday, which briefly City took top of the league for the first time since mid-November, might suggest otherwise, but you could argue that the Blues have already ridden out the storm this season. With their kings back, they are within striking distance in the title race and alive in the Champions League and the FA Cup. There are trophies to be won again.

 

“We are here without them and still we are there,” said Guardiola. “With them we are stronger, we do not have to be clever men to realise that. Of course, it is stronger but I’m not going to undermine what all their mates have done, with Julian, with Phil, with Bernardo.

 

“They know it. The most important thing with Kevin and Erling is they know it. That’s why we are a strong club, with incredible characters in the team. We have a team with huge personalities in difficult moments, otherwise we would not be here again.”

 

 

The competition for places that a fully-fit squad brings might mean some difficult decisions ahead. Julian Alvarez has started twice with Haaland this week but could soon find his place vulnerable. De Bruyne dropped to the bench on Saturday, but Phil Foden has been sensational and then there is Bernardo Silva to fit in the team, which is before you even get to the pair of left-wingers in Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish.

 

But as City hunt down another record-breaking haul of silverware, it might be De Bruyne and Haaland that are key, especially as players who can decide tight games, which is exactly what they did against Everton.

 

Worryingly for their rivals both domestically and on the continent, Guardiola is of the belief that the rest has benefited De Bruyne and Haaland, who had returned from last season’s treble heroics still tired, but now feel raring to go again.

 

 

“They are fresh, of course. Erling came back in pre-season and says ‘oh, I’m still tired’, not fresh in this schedule is normal. Now is fresh because he was injured for two months,” he said.

 

“For the way we play, it doesn’t change much but these guys help us win games. [Saturday] was the proof, ball there for Erling, ciao ciao, go home. Without him maybe we could not do it.

 

“They have the ability in the final third to create something that is not in the statistics, not in the books, not in genius managers. It’s from them. Have them for 90 minutes, or 30 minutes, or 45 minutes, it is better.”

 

City have survived without De Bruyne and Haaland. Now they might be about to thrive with them.