A couple from heaven: Kevin de Brauna and Arling Holland are a perfect pair

The best player in the world in passing to free spaces and the best striker in galloping to free spaces - what could be better and more fun?

Yesterday the Belgian cooked for the Norwegian for the first time, and we can only imagine how many times this combination will work in the coming season

Michael Yochin

08/08/2022

Monday, August 8, 2022, 2:00 p.m

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Summary of Manchester City's 0:2 victory over West Ham in the English league (Sport1)

"There were seasons when I cooked more. The statistics are part of the game, but they don't tell the full picture," said Kevin de Brauna not long ago.

And it's clear, especially when it comes to the Belgian genius - because he long ago became the assist artist before the assist in Manchester City.

The redhead often tends to provide the pass to a player who finds himself free and prepares the goal himself, often with a cross.

Why did this happen?

From Sde Browne is always looking for the most correct pass.

In Pep Guardiola's traditional way of playing at Manchester City, it is usually not the player who should put the ball in the net.

The patient movement of the ball makes him send many balls to the wings, and also receive them back.

In the end, it is natural that he may be the one to crack the opponent's defense, but not in the last delivery.

However, his favorite move was and remains the perfect deep pass.

If de Brauna detects an empty space behind the defense, he is able to move the ball there with the precision of a millimeter - you just need a scorer who knows how to get to this point at the right time.

The perfect striker for this task is Erling Holland.

He is defined as the classic number 9, in contrast to the simulated role implemented by Pep in recent years, but it would not be correct to see him only as a wide animal.

Just the opposite - the Norwegian is most effective when he develops speed away from the goal.

The defensive players are also far from the goalkeeper, there are large areas that can be reached, and Holland is unstoppable when he rushes there.

A completely different level of enjoyment.

De Brauna and Holland (Photo: GettyImages, Harriet Lander/Copa)

De Brauna, of course, also enjoys playing with a wide striker, and he proved this well in the great season at Wolfsburg in 2014/15, where he starred behind Bas Doost - the Dutchman who is the simplest model of the "old English striker".

The Belgian then equaled the all-time record in the Bundesliga with 20 assists, but most of them were not for Dost, who was mainly responsible for clearing the areas for the other stars, led by Andre Schurrle.

In the national team he has a special partner in the form of Romelu Lukaku, who likes to move outside the box as well, but speed is not his strongest attribute.

An opportunity to play with a partner like Holland is a completely different level of enjoyment, and De Braun knew he was going to be the biggest beneficiary of the Norwegian's addition.

Business didn't really work at the Community Shield last week.

Holland recorded a shocking miss, did not integrate in general in the group game, and at one point even de Brauna scolded him for not making the necessary movement to receive the pass from him.

The negative criticism in the media was not long in coming, but yesterday it was replaced by glowing praise after the pair that produced a 0:2 victory at West Ham's stadium in the opening round in the Premier League.

The first goal was actually arranged for him by Ilkay Gundoan, who sent him on a date with substitute goalkeeper Alphonse Areola on the way to the penalty.

However, the second performance was much more impressive.

The Hammers defense lined up in one line, quite far from the box, and tried to stop one striker who opened fire.

De Brauna didn't count any of them, and his ball was close to perfect.

Only one touch was needed for the striker to subdue Areola again and secure the points.

Who knows, maybe he would have completed a hat-trick, as he had hoped - but Guardiola replaced him with Julian Albers, prompting the amusing spewing of the mouth in the post-match interview.

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Holland (Photo: GettyImages, JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP)

De Brauna claims simply: "No matter who plays as a striker, I will try to find him with passes. He will make the movement, I will send him the ball, and he will score."

Indeed, Julian Albers may also be an excellent partner for him, but his style is a bit different, and he is more reminiscent of Con Aguero and is more suitable for the organized game.

Holland symbolizes vertical football more than anyone else - when the playmaker receives the ball, he only has to raise his head, see the place where there is no guard, and be sure that the Norwegian will get there before everyone else.

It is also the perfect partner for Holland.

He really likes to play with Martin Odegaard in the team, and at Borussia Dortmund a fantastic alliance was formed with Jadon Sancho, but this was a little different.

The Englishman is mainly a winger, on the right and on the left, so he usually provides crosses.

The Norwegian knows how to translate them into goals, and specializes in bringing the brakes forward when the ball reaches the box, but this is not the feature that distinguishes him from others.

He is the greatest expert in the world at finding the free spaces in passing attacks, and in supplying those balls De Brauna has no rivals.

Nine years separate them, but they were meant to play with each other, and this team will make it easier for Holland to acclimate to the English league.

That doesn't mean the process will necessarily be particularly easy, and a successful debut doesn't guarantee anything - just as the Community Shield fiasco didn't signal continued failure.

Manchester City is still built on possession, and this style is much less comfortable for Holland.

There will be certain games in which he will get lost, and the commentators will still be waiting for him with drawn knives.

However, even on the worst days, he will still be able to decide games in one given moment - the moment provided by De Brauna.

Holland's presence will allow him to be more flexible.

Pep Guardiola (Photo: Reuters)

The English champion may not completely adapt to Holland, and require him to change for her, but his presence on the field will allow her to be more flexible.

When the traditional approach runs into problems, the transition to direct and fast football will be natural thanks to the two best players in the world in their specific role.

Therefore, even if the first season will not be easy, Holland may finish it as the top scorer in the Premier League - thanks to De Brauna.

At the same time, de Brauna may return to his seat as the king of cooking in England - thanks to Holland.

With the Norwegian, the statistics will still not give the full picture, but will be much fairer, because De will provide a lot of direct assists, alongside the assist before the assist.

The competition against the duo of Tottenham, Harry Kane and Yong Min Son, will be difficult, because their assists go in both directions, but there is a reasonable basis to assume that the duo of Manchester City will be the most prolific in the league, provided that the two avoid injuries.

The aesthetic pleasure of this will be ours.

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• Manchester city

• Arling Holland

• Kevin de Brauna