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Kevin De Bruyne's incredible cross to Erling Haaland for Manchester City's third goal against Manchester United was a carbon copy of one he has delivered in a previous derby fixture at the Etihad Stadium.
De Bruyne laid on two assists for Haaland, who hit a stunning hat-trick and registered a pair of assists himself in the 6-3 hammering on Sunday.
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The Belgian playmaker has eight assists in as many games this term and now 94 in 218 appearances overall.
The type of pass he played for Haaland in the 36th minute against United is one he's conjured up time and time again - though it's not always been converted into a goal.
In December 2019, City were beaten 2-1 by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United - with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial on target.
City had a staggering 72% possession but their only goal was a late consolation header from Nicolas Otamendi.
Gabriel Jesus, City's previous number nine, had a golden opportunity in the first half when De Bruyne played an identical cross.
It was from more or less the same position, the ball floated in gloriously and right on a plate for the Brazilian.
“Why didn’t City just keep Jesus instead of signing Haaland?” pic.twitter.com/sILRLVNptS
— City Report Podcast (@cityreportpod) October 4, 2022
The former Palmeiras man went with his head and glanced the ball wide of David de Gea's goal.
Whereas Haaland, with his innate athleticism, was able to stab the ball home at the far post while on the stretch.
Jesus was a solid, reliable player for City and finished his stint with a respectable 95 goals in five years.
He's been in fine form for league leaders Arsenal, hitting five goals in eight appearances following his £45 million summer switch.
But the above clip provides clear evidence for why Haaland, who became the 14th player to receive a 10/10 rating from L'Equipe, is an upgrade on Jesus.
He's an absolute killer in those positions and City have bought him to make the difference and put those chances away.
As good as Jesus is (and he is very good as he is proving at Arsenal & we have seen over the last 5 years) he is not in Haaland's class. As a CF, no one is arguably. City have upgraded the position, simple as that
— Neil_K (@NK_ESQ) October 4, 2022
Haaland is exaggerating what City were lacking, but like that header the commentator was trying to mitigate on Saturday, Gabriel misses a lot of bread and butter, and always will. Haaland gobbles it all up.
— Allan Scanlon (@AllanScanlon) October 4, 2022
All I see here is the brilliance of KDB
— Sam StSam Adeyemi (@stsamadeyemi) October 4, 2022
Similar delivery with pinpoint accuracy in different season. Wow!
De Bruyne no be una mate
Im surprised Jesus was onside to be honest. Haaland, not been offside once yet this season
— Kippax75 (@Kippax752) October 4, 2022
This is why the “anyone can score for city, look at the amount of chances” argument sucks.. they can create so many chances thanks to Haalands movement and everyone knows a ball in the box equals a finish from him. So they can place it anywhere
— Lasse (@littleman1387) October 4, 2022
Haaland is miles better at finishing than Jesus, no doubt about that. There’s a lot more to GJ’s game, as we all know. Hold up play is fantastic. Haaland is what City needed, GJ is what Arsenal needed.
— OddAlerts.com (@OddAlerts) October 4, 2022
Deal that's worked out incredibly well for both parties. We love Jesus, but anyone who understands football knows how special Haaland is. No way Jesus would've played regularly with that signing, and Pep never keeps players who may become unhappy
— Danny Clark (@DanielClark1993) October 4, 2022
Haaland absolutely bullied Lisandro Martinez, with Jamie Carragher now claiming defenders are fearing playing against the big Norwegian.
Luis Suarez has hailed Haaland as the best number nine in the business, while former Chelsea skipper John Terry believes he could go down as the Premier League's greatest ever player.
Featured Image Credit: Image: Twitter/@cityreportpod & Sky Sports
Topics: Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City, Premier League, Erling Haaland, Gabriel Jesus
- Gabby Agbonlahor claims Gabriel Jesus was a better signing than Erling Haaland
- Kevin De Bruyne seemingly dives to win Erling Haaland's match-winning penalty vs Fulham
- Kevin de Bruyne showed why he is the best player in the Premier League after stunning assist for Erling Haaland
- Not even Kevin De Bruyne thought he deserved Player of the Match award after Belgium's win vs Canada
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