De Bruyne makes eyebrow-raising Haaland claim after Hojlund kick-starts Napoli’s Champions League campaign
Kevin De Bruyne had huge praise for Napoli team-mate Rasmus Hojlund.
Kevin De Bruyne labelled Rasmus Hojlund as “quite similar” to former Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland following his match-winning brace in Napoli’s 2-1 Champions League victory over Sporting Lisbon.
Hojlund joined Napoli on loan from Manchester United after failing to live up to the huge pressure placed on his shoulders at Old Trafford.
The Denmark international scored 26 goals in 62 appearances for United following a move worth £64million (plus £8million in performance-related add-ons) from Atalanta.
But Hojlund looks to be finding his feet again after returning to Italy, and inspired them to victory at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Wednesday with a fine double.
He was teed up by De Bruyne, who joined Napoli following the end of his storied spell at Manchester City, for both goals.
First Hojlund put Napoli ahead with a cool finish after De Bruyne launched a quick counter-attack. Then, after Luis Suarez had levelled from the penalty spot for Sporting, he secured the points with a brave header 11 minutes from time from De Bruyne’s in-swinging cross.
De Bruyne makes huge Hojlund claim
Hojlund’s performance drew huge praise from De Bruyne, who said: “They’re quite similar. Erling is Erling and what he’s done in his career is unbelievable. They both like to attack the space. Erling probably a little bit more. Rasmus wants to come [and meet the ball] sometimes.”
Haaland has scored 135 goals in 154 games for City. As such, the comparison between him and Hojlund will likely raise plenty of eyebrows.
But arguably nobody is better placed to make it than De Bruyne, with whom Hojlund is loving playing.
“Kevin is a legend of the sport,” Hojlund said. “For me, it’s just every time he has the ball, go find some space. I’m so grateful to play with a player like this.”
De Bruyne now has 27 Champions League assists, trailing only Ryan Giggs (41), Angel Di Maria (38), David Beckham (36) and Xavi (31) on the all-time list for midfielders.
His instrumental performance ensured Napoli bounced back from their league phase-opening 2-0 loss at City, which saw the Belgian’s Etihad Stadium return ruined as he was substituted in the first half following a red card for Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Napoli host Genoa on Sunday in their final game before the international break. Their Champions League campaign continues later this month at PSV Eindhoven.