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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne continue to shatter records in Man Utd demolition job

The records continue to fall at the feet of superstar Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.

The pair were at their world-beating best as City thumped Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, combining twice in the 6-3 triumph at the Etihad Stadium. Haaland powered home a header from De Bruyne's corner shortly after the half-hour mark, following Phil Foden's opener, before latching onto the Belgian's brilliant pass to put City 3-0 up just three minutes later.

Haaland and Foden would go on to complete hat-tricks on a glorious day for the Sky Blues, which was only slightly dampened by momentary lapses in defensive focus in the second half. The Manchester derby saw all manner of records broken, with Foden surpassing Lionel Messi as the youngest player to score 50 goals under Pep Guardiola.

Elsewhere, Haaland became the fastest player to score three Premier League hat-tricks by an extraordinary margin. It has taken just eight fixtures - during which he has netted 14 times - for him to register a treble of trebles, whereas it took former Liverpool striker Michael Owen 48 games.

De Bruyne was also keen to get in on the record-breaking action and his two assists in the derby saw him equal then surpass City legend David Silva's tally of 93 in the Premier League. With 94 to his name, the former Chelsea playmaker is level with Arsenal hero Dennis Bergkamp and sits joint-fifth in the all-time list, behind Ryan Giggs, Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard.

What is quite so extraordinary about De Bruyne's tally is that it took him 91 fewer games than Silva to better the Spaniard's 93 assists. Reflecting on setting up Haaland twice, the 31-year-old said: "I just try to find the teammates and try to find the spaces they can exploit, and we found each other a couple of times.

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Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland broke yet more records in the Manchester derby (Getty Images)

"I know he [Haaland] is going to make a run and if I know one of my teammates is going to make a run, I'm going to play them the ball. It is going well for the moment. Hopefully we can continue that."

While Haaland was typically clinical in front of goal, he also showcased his creative ability in the Manchester derby by teeing up two of Foden's strikes, meaning he ended the match with an astonishing return of three goals and two assists.

The Norwegian, 22, is out to maintain his frightening form as City host Southampton on Saturday, while he will have the chance to build on his three Champions League goals this season against Copenhagen on Wednesday. United are also in action in midweek, travelling to Cypriot side Omonia in the Europa League on Thursday before facing Everton at Goodison Park three days later.

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