De Bruyne‘s slide rule pass left the big striker up against Jarrad Branthwaite, who he shrugged off before finishing to seal the three points for City.
His dozen assists for Haaland is the most of any Premier League player for a specific team-mate since the start of last season.
They’re two ahead of Liverpool pair Mo Salah and Darwin Nunez and five ahead of the joint third best partnerships between Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise as well as Leandro Trossard and Bukayo Saka.
De Bruyne has now been involved in 23 goals across his last 23 appearances for City in all competitions.
He’s scored six times and claimed 17 assists during that period while he’s managed seven goal contributions in just eight games this term.
The pair are both still working their way up to their magnificent best after missing large chunks of this campaign, with De Bruyne coming off the bench in this one to help break a deadlock.
Patience
Despite dominating possession, City were finding it tough to get through a very determined Everton defence.
The Toffees were resolute, with centre-backs James Tarkowski and Branthwaite getting in the way of everything.
That was until Haaland’s piledriver in the 71st minute.
It was our first shot on target and our longest wait for an attempt on target in a Premier League match since September 2021 vs Southampton - when he had to wait until the 90th minute.
Efficiency
No outfielder who started the match had fewer touches of the ball than Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian had the ball under his spell just 25 times on the day.
However, none of that matters when he’s clinical enough to make the difference with his two best chances.
Having not scored since November, it was clear to see just how much of a release of a tension there was for our big No.9.
It ended a run of 17 shots and 418 minutes without scoring a Premier League goal.
He does love playing Everton though, having scored four times in three league appearances against them.
10 wins in a row
This victory marks an incredible 10 wins in a row for Pep Guardiola‘s side across all competitions.
That run began with the FIFA Club World Cup successes against Urawa Red Diamonds and Fluminense before Christmas and has also included six Premier League games and two FA Cup ties.
It’s the first time we have achieved six successive Premier League wins since the first half dozen games of the season.
During the run we have scored 29 times and conceded five.
Premier League stats this season
Erling Haaland has restored his outright lead in the Golden Boot race with this brace.
He’s now on 16 league strikes for the season, two ahead of nearest challenger Mo Salah.
Phil Foden‘s seven assists makes him our leader in that metric and the sixth best in the division.
Ederson has six clean sheets and is joint fourth for goalkeepers in this campaign.
Rodrigo‘s 2,126 passes means he has found a team-mate more than anyone else in the league.
