De Bruyne is back. The Belgian playmaker from Manchester City could not show his qualities at the World Cup in Qatar in the shirt of Belgium. In the sensational top match against Liverpool, however, he was good as usual.
The Red Devil completely controlled the game at the restart of his club season. Fifty thousand spectators watched De Bruyne dominate all over the field and lead The Citizens past rivals Liverpool. He assisted twice. ‘Sensational’, the BBC wrote about the performance.
De Bruyne looked a shadow of his normal self in Qatar as Belgium slipped out of the group stage and faced a disappointing early exit. At the Etihad Stadium he was completely himself again. “He set up Erling Haaland’s opening goal and the pass that gave Nathan Aké’s winning goal was even stunningly good,” they added.
All those present in Manchester licked their fingers when they saw the football that De Bruyne showed. Trainer Pep Guardiola explained the top form of his star player, “If he wants to find the right fire in him, he just has to be a little grumpy or upset. Then an enormous energy is released in him.”
Guardiola’s praise
“And then … what a player,” Guardiola praised after the victory in the League Cup. “His runs, his right foot, his assists. He is more than a normal player. It’s not easy to show that every time. I saw something in him today that he wanted to fight. And if he can unleash that in himself, we should call him Sir Kevin.”
Analyst and Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher was also deeply impressed by the Red Devil. He told Sky Sports, “He looks like a completely different player than at the World Cup. This is another player who ranks among the best players of all time in the Premier League. His performance today was great. He has prepared two goals and in my opinion he dominates every statistic.”
