After scoring a wonderful goal for Manchester City, Kevin De Bruyne could have been celebrated after the final whistle. Instead he ran towards his disappointed opponent Antonio Rüdiger. After the 0-1 (0-0) loss at Manchester City in the top game of the Premier League, Chelsea finally lost their chance of winning the championship, and Rüdiger’s mood was corresponding. The encounter between the two was charged with meaning. Because it was a violent collision with the same Rüdiger in the lost Champions League final in 2021 (0: 1) that forced De Bruyne to give up and caused him a broken nose and eye socket.
De Bruyne gave Rüdiger stylish consolation before he later set out for a small lap of honour. In doing so, he collected the fans’ wages for an artistic shot to the goal of the day, with which he not only cemented his club’s exceptional position on the island – but also reported back after a considerable period of suffering.
Almost a year ago to the day, De Bruyne, 30, sustained a persistent hamstring injury in a league game that kept him out of action for a month and has continued to plague him with the aftermath of constant muscle aches. When he had recovered from the injuries and the aforementioned facial fracture, the next setback followed in the round of 16 with Belgium: a brutal foul by the Portuguese João Palhinha, which maltreated his left ankle. Despite being badly injured, De Bruyne had painkillers injected for the game against Italy that followed. A decision he now regrets, as he admitted in an interview, and which was partly responsible for his tough start to the season.
On top of that, a corona disease threw him back in late autumn, causing him to miss a few more competitive games in a row. While doubts about his future performance were already circulating on the island, his coach Pep Guardiola, for whom nothing else can go fast enough, was patiently waiting for his exceptional talent to recover like a loyal companion. De Bruyne is “a world-class player”, praised Guardiola; a player with whom he won “everything” in England. Nevertheless, the Belgian remained “modest and humble”, which is “not easy” to find in this combination.
All in all, De Bruyne now has 180 goals in 285 competitive games for City
De Bruyne has been back in the Citizens’ attacking midfield since the beginning of December, as a pass and idea provider. And since the beginning of December, Manchester City have promptly won each of their nine competitive games, extended their own league series to twelve wins in a row and are 13 points ahead of their rivals Chelsea at the top of the table.
De Bruyne broke up the tactical showdown on Saturday with Thomas Tuchel’s team in the 70th minute when he completed a quick attack after losing the ball – which is how Chelsea actually wanted to score – which is well worth seeing. On the center line, central defender Aymeric Laporte won the header duel against substitute Timo Werner after a liberation shot, before team-mates Rodri and Joao Cancelo created the necessary space for De Bruyne with a wonderful short passing game (and Jack Grealish with an intelligent run).
De Bruyne shook off N’Golo Kanté, leading the ball and then flicking it from his ankle into the bottom right corner of the goal. His 21st goal from outside the box, more than any other Premier League professional since joining Manchester in the summer of 2015. Overall, De Bruyne now has an incredible 180 goals involved in 285 competitive games for City (74 goals, 106 assists).
the Sun wrote that “this mad goal was worthy of winning the championship”. In view of the seemingly unassailable lead, it seems that last year’s champions City can no longer defend their title. If at all, only Liverpool, who are 14 points behind, could start a catch-up race with two games less.
Lukaku missed “a huge opportunity”, says Tuchel
The direct encounter with Chelsea, who played almost submissively, was correspondingly one-sided, and Tuchel obviously went for a counterattack. For the first time under the German coach, the team didn’t fire a shot on goal in the first half. Tuchel blamed his attack for this circumstance, especially center forward Romelu Lukaku, the most expensive transfer in club history at 115 million euros. When asked whether Lukaku needed “more support” from his team-mates, Tuchel demanded that the attacker also have to work out his own scoring chances. Lukaku caused “a lot of easy ball losses” and missed “a huge opportunity” – the best of his team even when he failed in front of City goalkeeper Ederson (47th). With all this, you have to know that Lukaku was recently criticized for a comparatively harmless interview unauthorized by the club and was sentenced to a hefty fine and a public apology.
Tuchel has recently often referred to injuries and corona diseases when it came to his team’s performances. Guardiola also often mentioned the imponderables of the business, but accepted the absences in his team without complaint, including that of his best player: Kevin De Bruyne. But he’s back now.