DE BRUYNE HAILS ‘INCREDIBLE’ ERLING

KEVIN DE BRUYNE promised that Erling Haaland will deliver even more when he becomes accustomed to Manchester City’s style of play. Haaland struck twice as City thrashed Sevilla 4-0 in the opening Champions League group game, taking his tally to 12 goals in seven appearances. The £51million summer signing has taken City by storm over the past month but De Bruyne, who assisted Haaland’s first last night, insisted there is more to come.

‘I think the way he has adapted to us is really good but I think outside the goalscoring there is still another part in the game,’ De Bruyne said. ‘I think that part is more tough to adapt to. It makes it more exciting. If he can adjust to the way we play, then the levels will go up. It’s been the perfect start for him.’

City boss Pep Guardiola added: ‘His numbers all his career, even previous teams, is quite similar. He has an incredible sense of goal.

‘He has incredible numbers so we have another big game on Saturday against Tottenham and hopefully he can continue scoring goals. The numbers speak for themselves. It is not just the two goals, it is that he is always there and you get the feeling that he can score more.’ Phil Foden produced an eye-catching display in southern Spain, having a hand in two of the goals and scoring himself — his second of the season.

Guardiola claimed that while Foden has not performed to anywhere near his maximum recently, the academy graduate is almost impossible to drop from his starting XI. ‘Lately he is not playing so good but he always does a job and runs and fights and he’s stable for the team,’ Guardiola added. ‘You can play badly because you are human but you can never do what Phil does every single game and that is why he deserves to play.’