MANCHESTER (VG) Kevin De Bruyne (31) had seen the ability of Erling Braut Haaland (22) prior to this summer’s transfer, but the Manchester City midfielder has recently had aha experience.

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– That was last week, before the penalty against West Ham. “I honestly thought he would never reach the ball,” De Bruyne told VG.

– He’s very, very fast. “I didn’t know he was so fast,” said the 31-year-old, grinning with seven or eight reporters around him after the 4-0 win over Bournemouth.

See the situation De Bruyne is referring to here:

Last season, Haaland was recorded as the third fastest player in the German Bundesliga with a top speed of 36.3 kilometers per hour. In comparison, Robert Lewandowski sprinted at 33.46 km/h at his fastest pace, which puts the Polish forward in 164th place. Kyle Walker has been considered as Manchester City’s fastest player.

When asked if De Bruyne Haaland thought he was moving a little faster, the Belgian smiled.

– Heh-heh. Don’t tell Kyle. People can discuss it online.

In the match against Bournemouth, De Bruyne scored a beautiful goal with the outside of his right foot after several effective body movements against Lloyd Kelly (23).

Haaland lives alone cheats for knowledge online by team-mate Phil Foden (22) and had just eight touches in the game. The role of the spearhead is called a test of patience by both coach Pep Guardiola and De Bruyne because Haaland would often risk getting a bit involved in the game. Against Bournemouth’s 5-4-1 formation, Ilkay Gündogan (31) had been identified by City’s players as the man most likely to be released in space, which proved to be a correct assumption.

– By the way they organize themselves, “Gundo” becomes a free man for us. They play very central. Since Erling was the midpoint, the defenders couldn’t run to Gundo. “It opened our first goal in a very good way,” said De Bruyne, who had several discussions with Haaland and Guardiola during the game.

– If he sees something and has time to adjust it, he will try to do it, said the midfielder of instructions from Guardiola.

– Does Erling have to get used to a little touch in matches?

– Yes, but I think he did well. If he doesn’t score, there will always be talk, but he set up the first goal and had a few chances. He did what he had to do. Other times he will score goals. It’s always good to have a focal point that is up front. On some of our posts today, he’s almost there. It’s always very difficult when a team plays like Bournemouth. This was probably something he wasn’t used to from Germany.

– How was he in the dressing room after?

– He is nice. Obviously it’s hard to be at the center of our system. We mostly face teams that have 11 men behind the ball at all times. Regardless of the number of touches, he is dangerous. He helped the team in many phases. He didn’t complain. He helps and contributes with goalscoring passes, De Bruyne told VG.

In front of the BBC, Haaland also received unbridled praise from the German Gündogan.

– He gave us a new dimension. He gave us a whole new quality. He will score a lot of goals. In this match he helped me so I will try to give him a lot of assists in the future. We are privileged to have it. “He is not only a great footballer, but also an extraordinary person,” said the game’s first goalscorer.

City’s next game is away to Newcastle next Sunday.