Haaland & De Bruyne break goal & assist records – Guardiola’s claim the best PL manager

My Football Facts ⇒ Articles

By Martin Graham | 9th Apr 2023

On Saturday against Southampton, Erling Haaland scored his 29th and 30th Premier League goal in what is just his first season at the club. The assist for his 29th was provided by Kevin De Bruyne, who reached 100 assists in 237 games thanks to the Norwegian’s goal scoring prowess.

De Bruyne also got his 101st assist when he set up Jack Grealish, who has been one of Manchester City’s best players since the Premier League resumed after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Both Haaland and De Bruyne broke and set records with their goals and assists away at St Mary’s Stadium.

Haaland matched Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah and former Manchester United striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s tallies for most goals scored for an English club in one season. His two goals were his 43rd and 44th goals for City this season.

De Bruyne, meanwhile, beat former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas by 61 games to become the quickest player to reach 100 assists in the Premier League.

The Norwegian striker and Belgian midfielder were considered prodigies at some point. Haaland was already scoring with every shot in Norway, Austria and Germany before Man City. De Bruyne was running circles around the experienced midfielders in the German Bundesliga after Chelsea had initially failed to give him a chance.

Since switching to Manchester City, however, both have hit heights that are almost impossible to fathom. Haaland is looking increasingly likely to be the one to break the incredible goal-scoring records set by the likes of Josef Bican, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Pelé. De Bruyne, on the other hand, is making a case for himself in the discussions of who the world’s best midfielder/playmaker is.

Both players are under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, who many are beginning to call the greatest manager to ever step foot in England.

Sir Alex Ferguson has a legacy that is difficult to match. His trophy haul as a manager is the most in all of world football. Guardiola, with 33, is 17 titles behind the legendary Scotsman. The Spanish manager, however, has 24 years to catch up to Ferguson’s haul. Those odds are as favourable as they come for a manager of his calibre.

Ferguson was also brilliant in creating teams of good players. Guardiola, on the other hand, has excelled in creating a team of superstars from players who both had promise – like Haaland and De Bruyne – and players who nobody expected to become stars.

By the time the former Barcelona manager leaves England, his work at City would be seen in a truly different light.