Guardiola: 'No need to study at Harvard to understand the importance of De Bruyne, Haaland'

Before round 24 of the Premier League, coach Pep Guardiola praised Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne for being able to make a difference in bringing victory and the influence of this duo at Man City is very clear.

"It's simple. They are players who can win games on their own," Guardiola said on February 9 at a press conference ahead of the Premier League match against Everton. "When a player scores 60 goals, a player makes thousands, millions of assists, that wins you games. You don't need to go to Harvard or Yale to understand that."

Coach Guardiola gives instructions when sending Kevin de Bruyne onto the field in the Newcastle - Man City match in round 21 of the Premier League at St James' Park on January 13, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Last season, Haaland exploded with 52 goals in 53 matches in all competitions, helping Man City win the treble with Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup. The Norwegian striker just missed two months due to a foot injury and returned when he started in the 3-1 win at Brentford on February 5. Despite his long-term injury, Haaland still leads the Premier League's top scorer list with 14 goals, equal to Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.

Meanwhile, De Bruyne was out for five months with a hamstring injury and returned in the 5-0 win over Huddersfield in the FA Cup last month - coming off the bench and setting up Jeremy Doku's winner. He then contributed a goal and an assist in the 3-2 win over Newcastle, a corner for Nathan Ake's only goal against Tottenham in the FA Cup last-16, and then set up Julian Alvarez in the 3-1 win over Burnley and Phil Foden in the win over Brentford earlier this week.

Before his injury, De Bruyne scored 96 goals and provided 358 assists in all competitions, helping Man City win five Premier League titles, four League Cups, two FA Cups, one Community Shield and one Champions League. Last season alone, he contributed 10 goals and 31 assists in 49 games.

Phil Foden has also been in fine form this season, scoring 14 goals in all competitions, including a hat-trick against Brentford. Guardiola is pleased with his form and believes the England midfielder will continue to improve. "If he wants to improve, he will improve," said the Spanish coach. "That's life. And I think Foden wants to do that."

Man City are second in the Premier League with 49 points, two points behind Liverpool but with a game in hand. They will face Luton Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup on February 27 and Copenhagen in the last 16 of the Champions League.

But Guardiola believes there is a 99.99% chance City will not win the treble like last season. "It's a fairy tale. It's very complicated," the 53-year-old coach said. "If it was easy, Man Utd could have done it before. The players know how difficult it is. What I like is that we are still competing for titles and hopefully we can continue to maintain that until the end of the season."

Hong Duy

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