Kevin De Bruyne believes former Manchester City team-mate Erling Haaland and Napoli striker Rasmus Hojlund are 'quite similar'

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Kevin De Bruyne says there is not much difference between playing with "unbelievable" Erling Haaland and Napoli team-mate Rasmus Hojlund, who is on loan from Manchester United. De Bruyne set up two Hojlund goals in Napoli's 2-1 win over Sporting in the UEFA Champions League as the pair continued their fine start to life in Italy. Hojlund said he is "so grateful" to play with De Bruyne.

'Sensational!' - Hojlund and De Bruyne combine as Napoli strike first

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Kevin De Bruyne does not think there is much to separate Erling Haaland and Rasmus Hojlund.

The former Manchester City star assisted Hojlund twice in Napoli's 2-1 win over Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.

Hojlund, 22, who struggled for goals with Manchester United last season - leading him to leave Old Trafford on loan - has already scored three times in five games this term.

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De Bruyne built a formidable partnership with Haaland at City under Pep Guardiola, to help the Norwegian shatter a number of goalscoring records.

Now he is helping an old rival find the back of the net, and he believes that there are similarities between the two strikers, despite their contrasting records.

"They're quite similar," De Bruyne said. "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, 25, has been a revelation since joining City in 2022, scoring 135 times in 154 games.

Hojlund did not match the heights of Haaland in Manchester following his £72 million arrival from Atalanta in 2023. In 95 games, he found the net on 26 occasions.

But the Dane looks in fine form for the Italian champions after his first handful of games under Antonio Conte, with Hojlund giving "legend" De Bruyne some of the credit.

"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."

Since De Bruyne joined Napoli, the veteran has scored or assisted five goals in seven games, scoring three times in Serie A before adding a brace of assists to his record on Wednesday.

That helped him take his career total to 27 assists in the Champions League, which places him fifth in the assists chart for midfielders.

He now trails only Ryan Giggs (41), Angel Di Maria (38), David Beckham (36) and Xavi (31).

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