Erling Haaland says the secret to his successful partnership with Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City is instinct.
Haaland is the perfect target man for De Bruyne's delivery, and the striker has already scored 23 goals in his 18 appearances at City to date. De Bruyne is also enjoying a productive season, with 13 assists to his name so far. Among those have been some eye-catching crosses for Haaland - notably at West Ham, Sevilla, Aston Villa, and twice in the home demolition of Manchester United.
Discussing the balance between training and natural instinct, Haaland said there is a mixture of planning and improvisation when De Bruyne gets in a crossing position.
ALSO READ: Alvarez is justifying Guardiola's change
Speaking to The Gentleman's Journal, Haaland said: "I know that when Kevin De Bruyne has the ball, I have to be on the opposite side in the right place and at the right time for him to play the ball into my course with a sharp cross.
"You can train to anticipate what your teammates will do, and to know what to do when they have the ball in a certain spot of the pitch. It also comes a bit down to myself. I’m training it, but it is also an instinct that I’m born with."
Haaland also discussed his mentality in pressured moments for City, such as his recent penalty vs Brighton, revealing that a positive attitude helped him succeed.
He explained: "I don’t do special mental training. In a situation like [the penalty vs Brighton], when I get the penalty, I focus on staying calm, to breathe, try not to think of what could happen if I miss. That’s the worst thing to do. So, for me, it is about trying to relax and to get the ball in the back of the net, as, in the end, that’s what I want to do.
"Of course, I feel pressure before every game. Normally, I sleep well, but I’m excited like everybody else. [Against Brighton], I went out and played in front of 50,000 fans and I know millions of people are watching from home. When the game starts, I try to enjoy it, and this is exactly what I did today."
You can vote for Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland to win the Fans' Footballer of the Year 2022 Award - cast your vote below or click here.
READ NEXT:
