EPL TALK: Tight and unpredictable title chase will eventually be decided by... Kevin de Bruyne

AS THE giddy talk inevitably begins over the English Premier League title race, it’s difficult not to sound like a petulant teenager, repeating the same answer to everything. There’s only a five-point gap between the top five? Yeah, but Kevin de Bruyne. Liverpool ended Manchester City’s run of home victories? Yeah, but Kevin de Bruyne. Trent Alexander-Arnold silenced the Etihad crowd, literally and metaphorically? Yeah, but Kevin de Bruyne.

The 1-1 draw did illustrate a title-defining quality, only the quality was conspicuous by his absence. Hercule Poirot isn’t required to solve this one. Another enigmatic Belgian did it. He’s been doing it for years. And de Bruyne will do it again this season. Like a New Year’s resolution, he’ll turn up in 2024 promising good deeds. Only he’ll accomplish them. He’ll settle the title race.

Indeed, it’s hard not to picture de Bruyne striding into the arena and doing his best Russell Crowe, sidestepping broken bodies and shattered dreams to have his vengeance, in this season and the next, probably. He’s the gladiatorial gift that keeps on giving.

And Pep Guardiola knows it. Have you ever seen the Manchester City manager less perturbed after dropping points against his enemy at home? He had the air of a slightly miffed gentleman who’d turned up late at a closed post office to send off his Christmas cards. He was mildly irritated. But there’s always tomorrow.

Tomorrow will bring John Stones, Jack Grealish and de Bruyne. Mostly, it’ll bring de Bruyne. What will tomorrow bring for Jurgen Klopp or Mikel Arteta or even Ange Postecoglou? Goalkeeping wobbles, defensive concerns and injuries to key players within limited squads. None of their potential problems can realistically be fixed within their respective camps. But Guardiola can eventually address his overriding concern.

Basically, he needs to find Erling Haaland. Quickly. Accurately. And smartly. Last season, it took a while. But de Bruyne picked the lock because he’s a master craftsman and Manchester City made off with all the silverware. De Bruyne made it look effortless, encouraging his team-mates to do likewise.

But Jérémy Doku isn’t quite there. He will be, at some point. His dribbling and raw speed appealed to his fellow Belgian in the first place. De Bruyne reportedly played matchmaker between Manchester City and Doku and the rest was, well, a torrid afternoon for Trent Alexander-Arnold at the Etihad.

But was it really? Doku was easy on the eye, but less easy on Haaland. The mazy runs got bums off seats, but rarely got the ball into his striker, despite Guardiola’s transparent plan of attack. All that was missing on Alexander-Arnold’s back was a painted target, such was City’s eagerness to find Doku and exploit Liverpool’s supposed tender spot.

Alexander-Arnold didn’t win every one-on-one, but he won enough times to wander into midfield, score the equaliser and walk off with Man-of-the-Match honours, doing enough to indicate that Doku’s overall impact was less decisive than it'd initially appeared.

Do City's rivals have enough depth to sustain title pushes?

Doku didn’t find Haaland enough. Nor did Phil Foden or even Bernardo Silva. That was de Bruyne’s raison d'etre, his party trick, to be trotted out in those milliseconds before Haaland’s freakish twitch fibres sensed an opening between centre-backs. De Bruyne’s passing range served a beast with no discernible weaknesses. One flung himself through a closing window of space. The other plonked a ball there. It was like watching two men with Spidey Senses.

Ironically, the closest examples of this at the Etihad came from Liverpool. Three decent chances slipped through Manchester City’s back three, but they found Darwin Nunez, who is still working through his tribute acts for Roberto Firmino, Andy Carroll and Roy Keane. If he can settle on the first persona, he’ll be unstoppable. But he’s still a work in progress. So he missed all three. Haaland had one and scored one.

That’s why Guardiola sleeps easily tonight, despite Manchester City’s current position.

Arsenal are top of the table, which gives the EPL standings the feel of one of those attractions at the Trick Eye Museum. From a certain angle, the image seems plausible. But a closer look suggests it’s just a façade.

Most seasons throw up a team like Arsenal, who flirt with a title shot in the early exchanges as the usual suspects take time to find their feet. Most seasons, that team is Arsenal.

This time around, the Gunners are toiling to overcome the likes of Brentford, whilst confusing Aaron Ramsdale’s clean sheet with a last-minute penalty save, such is the praise and attention being lavished on the goalkeeper for essentially doing his job.

And title campaigns are not typically sustained by the goals of Kai Havertz.

Across North London, Tottenham Hotspur will continue to play with the gallant, futile elegance of the string quartet on the Titanic, refusing to acknowledge that the sweetest music is less important than a few lifeboats. James Maddison and Micky van de Ven are out until next year, but Postecoglou won’t compromise. The idealistic endeavour will be terrific fun to watch, but it won’t trouble either Manchester City or Liverpool.

So it’s all down to the Reds, right? They stopped City from equalling a record of 24 consecutive home victories. They denied access to the Norwegian brute. Mostly. They even boasted a player in Alexander-Arnold who occasionally resembled de Bruyne, shaking off his Clark Kent/Gary Neville persona to play Superman/David Beckham for a bit. He knitted the lines together with some lovely distribution.

But he doesn't have Haaland ahead of him, does he?

More importantly, Haaland will soon have de Bruyne behind him, reuniting a double act that made the difference last season, a difference measured in centimetres, between finding and reaching that killer ball in all three major competitions. Or not. Against Liverpool, those measurements were off.

The lacklustre draw at the Etihad offered the comforting illusion of a close title race, which is most welcome. But City’s rivals don’t have anyone like Haaland. Obviously. And in the second half of the campaign, they won’t have anyone like de Bruyne either.

Neil Humphreys is an award-winning football writer and a best-selling author, who has covered the English Premier League since 2000 and has written 28 books.

Follow the new EPL season with the "Footballing Weekly" show on YouTube, Spotify and Acast.

For more football news, visit our Football page on Yahoo!

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.