Kevin De Bruyne credited Erling Haaland with making the spaces that helped Manchester City romp to a 4-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.
Much was made of the fact the marquee signing got only eight touches in his 74 minutes on the pitch. The Norwegian did not get his first until the 19th minute, but it was a key one as he played in Ilkay Gundogan to score the opening goal.
De Bruyne then got City’s second and set up Phil Foden for the third before half-time, with Haaland sat on the bench by the time Jefferson Lerma’s 79th-minute own goal made it 4-0.
But it would be difficult to argue Haaland was a peripheral figure on his home debut. He drew three defenders as he set up Gundogan, and it was the same throughout his time on the pitch – his towering presence demanding the attention of Bournemouth players to leave space for others to exploit.
“It’s hard being that focal point in the system,” De Bruyne said. “We have 11 people behind the ball pretty much all the time so in these however many touches he was dangerous. You don’t need a lot of touches to be dangerous.
“He helps the team in many aspects and he didn’t complain, he was still helping and giving assists so it’s fine.
“I think he did well. If he doesn’t score they will say it but he set up the first goal, he had a couple of chances and he was there. He helped us make these chances, he did what he had to do and on another day he will score. It’s all good for me.”
Having played with a false-nine for the majority of the last two years, De Bruyne and City are adapting to having Haaland and Julian Alvarez this term.
Guardiola believes both players will not only score plenty themselves but make life easier for those around them.
“Against this type of defence we have to play with a striker or maybe two, to move left and right because the space is minimal,” Guardiola said.
“It’s coming. It’s a question of time. Against teams like that you have to find a solution to break them. Erland will score goals, Julian will score goals. It’s important many other players score goals.