Kevin De Bruyne already has six assists in the Premier League this season, with three setting up Erling Haaland to score.
The Manchester City playmaker's assists have dropped slightly in the last two seasons after his record-equalling haul of 20 in 2019/20, and a simple explanation for that would be the absence of Sergio Aguero or any recognisable striker in that period.
Now, Haaland has arrived and scored 14 goals in all competitions already, and De Bruyne looks to be a beneficiary of having a world-class poacher always waiting in the box. It's no surprise that two of his assists for Haaland have been crosses from the right (with another also a cross from that side, but to Phil Foden, who had run into space vacated by Haaland).
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It seems that with Haaland always waiting, City are prepared to put plenty of crosses into the box, whether it be from an underlapping or overlapping midfielder - someone like De Bruyne or Foden - or a deeper cross from Joao Cancelo, Foden or Bernardo Silva.
The players know Haaland will be there, so there is now less risk to putting crosses into the box than there may have been last season where players took it in turn to play out of position as a false nine. A look at City's crossing statistics for the season so far and last season as a whole suggests that crossing the ball is becoming a more viable tactic.
Last season, City averaged 23 crosses per game, although only 19 per cent (4.4 per game) of those were accurate. This season, City are actually averaging fewer crosses per game at 21, but six of those are finding a Blue shirt with an accuracy of 28 per cent. Pep Guardiola hates losing possession unnecessarily, and if it happens he expects City to win back the ball quickly.
With crosses, there is a greater risk of losing the ball and lower chance of regaining possession easily. The manager does stress the importance of putting the ball into the box close to the goal but has often preferred a slow, measured build-up to wait for an opportunity with maximum chance of scoring or keeping the ball. Maybe that was because there wasn't always someone in the box, and those midfielders needed time to make that run.
Now Haaland is there, the risk of crossing the ball is worth taking more often, although it's notable that so many goals so far have come from a full-back or winger on their strong foot providing a run to the byline to cross - rather than a player in possession making the cross themselves on their weaker foot.
Foden, when playing on the right, has provided that ball to De Bruyne rather than cross on his weaker right, and he has been the one running to the byline to cross with his left when on the opposite flank. Players like Bernardo and Riyad Mahrez will often cut inside on the right and wait for a runner, with Jack Grealish tasked with the same on the left.
That's obviously a tactic that works, but invites defenders to organise themselves before the cross comes in. So maybe a 'plan B' going forward could be simply to move players like Grealish over to the right and people like Mahrez onto the left, so they are able to cross with their stronger foot earlier, to keep the pressure on and keep defenders guessing.
Guardiola may want to spend most of the time - as he has done for years - with his wingers cutting inside and creating space for the overlap. However, in games where that 'plan A' isn't working, City now have the players to swap wings and play on their stronger side, knowing that Haaland will be waiting to attack every cross. It could get more out of Grealish, too, who is at his best when one-on-one with a defender and being direct.
City have tested this tactic a few times within games, so it's hardly a new concept. Against teams like Crystal Palace, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund, they were struggling at times to control the game. In three of those games, they needed moments of individual brilliance to rescue them.
Guardiola always looks for different ways to break down defences who set up incredibly deep against his side. Maybe now he can begin to experiment more with swapping his wingers and keep those defences on their toes with even more effective routes to goal.
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