What we learned about Haaland & Co without De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne will be out for three to four months with a hamstring injury. Due to the absence of the Belgian Erling Haaland, Pep Guardiola and Co. they have difficult tasks to solve.

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It is a severe blow for Manchester City to deal with against Sevilla shortly before the UEFA Super Cup. Kevin De Bruyne, who was substituted after 22 minutes of Friday’s Premier League opener at Burnley, has suffered a serious thigh injury and will be out for several months.

This means that the triple winner lacks the ability to pull the strings in attack. De Bruyne set up 16 goals in the Premier League alone, and in all competitions last season his 28 was an incredible assist. That makes the 32-year-old one of Manchester City’s most important players, which is why it will be exciting to see how the current best team in the world and their star coach, Pep Guardiola, deal with him in three to four games. month absence.

How strong is Haaland without his noble stomach?

The Norwegian is a classic penalty area striker who is always in the right place at the right time. But that also means he relies on good passing. Last season, most of them came from De Bruyne. 12 of the 44 goals Erling Haaland has scored (excluding penalties) have been set up by him, and nine of his 29 goals have been in the Premier League. Unsurprisingly, this was most common in the English Senate.

The most reliable mold provider has long been discontinued: Who feeds Erling Haaland?Photo: Cornerstone

With Ilkay Gündogan, another important prepare from last season, moving to Barcelona, ​​it will be interesting to see who now feeds the hungry striker. And whether he can maintain his insane rate of nearly one goal per game without De Bruyne.

The 23-year-old may also be using the absence of the Belgian pivot to eliminate one of his weaknesses. Because when it comes to creating chances, Haaland is right fbref.com In terms of playing time, they ranked only 10th among City pros who played regularly last season.

What can Guardiola come up with?

The Catalan is considered the greatest tactical genius of his era. Time and time again, he allows new ideas to flow into his team’s style of play, thus keeping the competition on his toes. Now that one of his side’s important fixtures, which Pep Guardiola has been counting on since his arrival in Manchester in 2016, is gone, perhaps the three-time Champions League winner will have to come up with something new.

The first two matches of the season already allow the first conclusions. De Bruyne was not used in the Supercup against Arsenal, and had to be substituted early against Burnley. In midfield, Mateo Kovacic played a more attacking role alongside Rodri. However, the Croatian lacks De Bruyne’s readiness credentials. Kovacic has just 13 assists in 143 Premier League matches so far.

Mateo Kovacovic (left) and Julian Alvarez (right) have played in both matches this season so far.Photo: www.imago-images.de

The attacking trio behind Haaland will be responsible for the creative duties. Somewhat surprisingly, striker Julian Alvarez was used in the central position between Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden. And the Argentine did well from behind the striker, although he wasn’t quite as involved in the passing game as a typical ten-man. In the absence of De Bruyne, Guardiola could choose another, stronger option.

Is Phil Foden ready yet?

A candidate to fill this gap is Phil Foden. The 23-year-old Englishman is considered one of the greatest talents in football and can be recruited with great flexibility. Although he has mainly played on the wings in the past two seasons, he has also been used in attacking midfield from time to time. Unsurprisingly, Foden became more focused after De Bruyne was injured against Burnley.

This may also be the case in upcoming games. Especially with regards to assists and assists, Foden pointed to impressive qualities last season. If it is now increasingly used in the control center, it can prove it even more. And even if Alvarez remains in tenth place, without De Bruyne, Foden is likely to play a more important role in possession.

For Manchester City, it is also about how to replace the former playmaker when he slackens due to his age. In addition to De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, whose possible departures are always circulating, there are ten real missing from the “Cityzens” squad. Foden could be an interesting option given his resilience — and setting himself up for him over the next few months. West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta may also occupy the position.

Who prevails in defence?

De Bruyne’s injury aside, the next few games will also show who at the back has the confidence of the 52-year-old. In the Super Cup, Guardiola relied on Manuel Akanji, Robin Dias, John Stones and Kyle Walker, then on Rico Louis, Nathan Ake and Akanji Walker at the start of the league. Another centre-back joined the squad in Josko Guardiol.

While there are only three nominal options for the outside positions in Walker, Luis and Sergio Gomez along with Joao Cancelo, who is yet to leave the club, there are five candidates in the centre-back. With so many games Manchester City have to play, everyone will have their chances.

When Dias has been fit, he has almost always been a seed since his arrival in the summer of 2020. So the other four players are vying for a spot. Akanji has an advantage due to its flexibility. And because he can also play on the right or left side of the four defenders, he played the most minutes of any defender last season. But the 29-year-old Stones and Akie have always proven their quality in the past. And now there is also the most expensive defender in history, and he is unlikely to accept the role of a substitute.

They were Manchester City’s two most used defenders last season: Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji (right).Photo: www.imago-images.de

Hardly any other club has such great competition as Manchester City’s central defence. It will be interesting to see which one proves itself and how the gap in midfield is bridged. The first answers can already be found tonight (9pm) in the UEFA Super Cup, as Manchester City meet European champions Sevilla. Then there could also be a Swiss duel between Akanji and Gabriel So, who moved to Andalusia from Frankfurt.

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