De Bruyne matches and outdoes Jota’s assists feat against Luton Town
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Kevin De Bruyne assisted four of Erling Haaland’s five goals as Man City stormed past Luton Town in the FA Cup, thus surpassing Diogo Jota, who set up three for Mohamed Salah in a Champions League match in 2022 (Credit: Imago)

De Bruyne matches and outdoes Jota’s assists feat against Luton Town

Seye Omidiora 05:53 - 28.02.2024

The Manchester City attacking midfielder set up four of Erling Haaland’s five goals as Pep Guardiola’s men stormed into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 6-2 win at Kenilworth Road.

Kevin De Bruyne set a record on Tuesday night in Manchester City’s exciting 6-2 FA Cup 5th Round victory over Luton Town at Kenilworth Road. Pep Guardiola’s men raced into a 3-0 first-half lead, but two brilliant Jordan Clark strikes either side of the break put Rob Edwards’ side within one of last season’s treble winners.

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However, City turned the screw with two quick-fire Erling Haaland efforts in minutes 55 and 58 before Mateo Kovacic extended the Manchester outfit’s advantage with a 72nd-minute goal. While Haaland’s five goals were the game’s highlight, De Bruyne’s achievement was significantly notable.

What did De Bruyne do against Luton Town?

The Belgian playmaker, a late participant in Manchester City’s 1-0 Premier League win at Bournemouth, was restored to Guardiola’s lineup for their FA Cup clash at Luton. He wasted no time setting up Haaland’s first after three minutes, repeated the trick 15 minutes later and set up the Norwegian in the 40th minute of the opening half.

However, De Bruyne was not done, as he then assisted Haaland’s fourth, taking him to 12 assists this season despite missing about five months through injury. The 32-year-old three assists for one player saw him become the first man to do so since Diogo Jota in 2022, even if the Belgian surpassed that feat by adding one more for City’s top scorer after the interlude.

What was Diogo Jota’s record?

The Liverpool forward, in 2022, set up every goal in Mohamed Salah’s six-minute hat-trick when Jurgen Klopp’s men annihilated Rangers 7-1 in a Champions League clash at Ibrox. Assisting Salah in that time frame became the competition’s quickest hat-trick, and it was also the first time a player directly contributed to a teammate’s treble of goals since Franck Ribery assisted three Mario Gomez strikes for Bayern Munich against Basel in March 2012.

According to Opta, it was also the first time a Liverpool player assisted every goal for a team-mate’s hat-trick since Stan Collymore for Robbie Fowler against Arsenal in December 1995.

What comes next for De Bruyne and Manchester City?

Up next for De Bruyne and his teammates is this weekend’s Manchester derby against a beleaguered Manchester United side, with head coach Erik ten Hag facing an uncertain future.

Afterwards, Guardiola’s men take on Copenhagen in their Champions League last-16 second-leg before visiting Premier League-contending Liverpool and travelling to the Amex to take on Brighton & Hove Albion before the March international break.