Mohamed Salah was forced to apologise to Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk after he omitted him from his dream 5-a-side team in favour of Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo.
13.05.2022 - 14:17 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Kevin De Bruyne's hat-trick goal at Wolves may have been unstoppable from the moment it left his weaker foot but it did bring to an end an astonishing sequence for the Belgian superstar. That strike was his first in 10 that hadn't given Manchester City the lead in a game.
Twice at Molineux his goals put City in front, as he did against Real Madrid, and Liverpool, and Atletico, and Burnley, and Southampton, and United, and United again. Of the last 16 times City have taken the lead in a game, more than half have been through their talismanic playmaker.
Capturing all of the headlines the day after the arrival of Erling Haaland was announced was a useful reminder to all of just how important De Bruyne has been to Pep Guardiola this season specifically. It is no exaggeration to think City would not be ahead of Liverpool without his goals, and his form over the second half of the campaign shows why - whatever the awards say - he has probably been the outstanding player at the Etihad and in the division for the 2021/22 campaign.
Also read:Foden wants Man City teammates to pause Erling Haaland excitement
Guardiola described De Bruyne's second half of the season as 'beyond perfect' following his four goals at Molineux and his statistics are striking: before Boxing Day, the only opening goal of a game he had scored was against Wycombe Wanderers; after two goals from his first 13 starts of the season, since the Leicester game on December 26 he has 17 from 24. De Bruyne's form in 2022 will make rivals relieved he wasn't fully fit before then.
What is exceptional about those goals though is their importance to games. The 30-year-old has scored the opening goal of the game nine times this season - twice more than Raheem Sterling
Mohamed Salah was forced to apologise to Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk after he omitted him from his dream 5-a-side team in favour of Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Following Erling Haaland's transfer to Manchester City, he'll be joining a group of exceptional Premier League forwards.
Erik ten Hag knows exactly what to expect from Cristiano Ronaldo. When asked about what the Portuguese forward will deliver for Manchester United next season in his first press conference on Monday morning, the new boss simply stated: "goals."
Real Madrid have now reportedly shortlisted Manchester United megastar Cristiano Ronaldo as one of their targets following their failure to lure Kylian Mbappe to the Bernabeu.
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha believes Erling Haaland will have a huge impact on the Blues in more ways than one, insisting his arrival in the Premier League is comparable to Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United last summer.
Manchester United fans have a worrying theory about Cristiano Ronaldo's involvement in the 'leaked' 2022-23 kit pictures.
Cristiano Ronaldo has already told Manchester City's latest addition Erling Haaland what he must do to avoid being a Premier League flop.
Crisiano Ronaldo cut a very frustrated and fed up character during and after Manchester United’s 4-0 defeat at Brighton on Saturday.