‘A lot of similarities’: Rafa Benitez compares Man City pair to an old Liverpool strikeforce

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Rafa Benitez sees ‘similarities’ with Kevin De Bruyne & Erling Haaland and Steven Gerrard & Fernando Torres. The old Liverpool attack was something special.

Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland have lit up the Premier League this season – even if the latter has had the bulk of the headlines. The pairing appear unstoppable at times, in truth, as arguably the world’s best playmaker and the world’s best finisher.

Manchester City have something special there and Rafa Benitez compares it to a partnership he had at Liverpool. 2007 – 2010 saw Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres operate as the dominant force for the Reds and they did it in a similar style.

“Gerrard could play with Torres all the time,” he told Premier League Matchday Live. “De Bruyne said something about players making the runs and he knows that they would run and also, he has the ability [to find them].

“So I think the coordination between the striker and the playmaker is crucial. You had this with Gerrard and I think [De Bruyne] has a lot of similarities.”

De Bruyne and Haaland

It’s worth mentioning that Michael Owen also made a similar comparison – only he used himself in place of Torres. While that’s true, Gerrard’s peak coincided with the Spaniard, rather than Owen.

As for De Bruyne and Haaland, they certainly look capable of delivering even more goals than Gerrard and Torres did. The Norwegian is already setting records and he’s only been in England for a few months.

But then, Gerrard and Torres didn’t have the luxury of a ridiculously deep squad taking defenders away from them. That pairing was the Liverpool attack, essentially. De Bruyne and Haaland are in a squad so rich with attacking talent that Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish sat on the bench for 90 minutes against Liverpool on Sunday.

Benitez is right in what he says, though. Put an elite all-action playmaker behind a world-class finisher and you’re going to cause trouble. Gerrard and Torres were once a perfect example of that, as De Bruyne and Haaland are now.