Manchester City met Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup last Sunday. Facing opponents from the Championship, the defending champions did not let up and fired up their firepower to win 5-0 in the end. Foden seized the opportunity and shone again with a brace.
Previously, De Bruyne was sidelined for five months with a hamstring injury. In the game against Ha Town, Manchester City's No. 17 came on as a substitute in the 57th minute and officially returned.
Sometimes, it's just that coincidental. De Bruyne played just 17 minutes before providing his first assist of the season for his compatriot who had also returned from injury.
When Manchester City play more difficult games, De Bruyne is very much needed. There is no denigration of the other players here, as Foden played well during Kevin De Bruyne's injury, switching to the middle after the Club World Cup and visibly returning to the ball.
But the numbers don't lie, as De Bruyne has made a total of 99 key passes in the league since the start of the 2022-23 season, ranking first in the Manchester City squad and 18 more than second. Let's not forget, he has only played 23 minutes in the league this season.
Now, a new question is in front of Pep Guardiola - how to build a system that can make Foden and De Bruyne 1+1 2? One of the more viable options would be to revert to the 3-2-4-1 formation used in the second half of last season.
In the 2022-23 season, Kevin De Bruyne provided 16 assists in the league and Haaland scored 36 league goals to prop up City's attack.
In addition, Gundogan also played an indispensable role, stepping up many times in the closing stages of the season to stabilize the morale of the army and ride alone as a savior.
This season, Gundogan went to Barcelona, and Manchester City lost an important point of firepower. Before, many people were worried about Gua Shuai: who would fill such a big vacancy? Now, someone is pointing: who could be more suitable than De Bruyne?
Manchester City currently sit third in the Premier League table, five points behind leaders Liverpool and have one game in hand. It's not a bad result at this stage, Kevin De Bruyne is out for half a season, and they remain in the title race.
However, in the second half of the season, with more and more key matches, veterans who can play hard-fought will become crucial. Championship contenders need the kind of guy who can deliver a lethal pass at the right time to turn one point into three points.
At this stage, if Guardiola wants to maximize De Bruyne's role without destroying the good chemistry of the main lineup, the only solution is to use him as Gundogan.
De Bruyne has been with Manchester City for many years and is tried and tested and trusted. Manchester City scored and assisted in the same score (4-1) over Arsenal and Liverpool in April last year, with Kevin De Bruyne scoring in both games.
In the second half of the season, the veteran will surely turn the tide if City need to.
In recent years, we have long been accustomed to Manchester City coming out in the second half of the season to win the title. This year, they can use the injured De Bruyne as a "secret" to attack the key game and send "surprises" to the opponent in key games?
In this way, Foden can continue to play in the number 10 position and be responsible for leading the team to play downwind. When the wind was headwinded, De Bruyne took over the game and the whole team watched him perform.
In this summer window, Manchester City let go of Gundogan, so they have been criticised - who will score the key goals in the future? Now it seems that the solution may already be in the works.