Manchester City resumed their Premier League title defense campaign in the first league fixture of the new year with a stunning away victory over Newcastle United on Saturday. They are striving to regain their lost form in the latter half of the season to reclaim first place.
The English champions received a boost as their ace playmaker, Kevin De Bruyne, has returned from a long-term hamstring injury. The Belgian is finding his way back into the starting eleven, regaining peak fitness amid his successive cameo performances that have garnered praise from the boss, teammates, and fans.
Haaland hails Kevin De Bruyne’s match-winning cameo
Manchester City traveled to St. James’ Park to play their first league match in the second phase of the season. A series of draws and defeats had disrupted their league run; however, Pep Guardiola’s side managed to turn things around recently, and they were hoping to secure a win
For the visitors, Bernardo Silva opened the scoring but went on to concede twice, courtesy of spectacular goals from Alexander Isak and Antony Gordon in the first half for the Magpies. In the 69th minute, the Spanish boss called on the 32-year-old to replace Silva in hopes of inspiration.
However, in the second half, the Citizens’ rigorous attacks finally paid off when their Belgian international, Kevin De Bruyne, carried the ball to swiftly finish from outside the box to level the score. Capitalizing on the momentum, Guardiola’s squad exploited the situation.
In Erling Haaland’s absence, Norwegian talent Oscar Bobb secured the winning goal during added time, with De Bruyne providing the assist.
The star striker, Erling Haaland, is also sidelined due to an injury and is on his way to recovery. He posted a few Instagram stories supporting his team’s match and was seen celebrating the three points. Haaland posted a picture of De Bruyne from the scenes with a crown emoji, praising his heroic cameo.
De Bruyne hit the ground running with 18 minutes per goal involvement
Interestingly, the triple winners face no repercussions with no absentees due to the ongoing AFCON and Asian Cup, unlike fellow Premier League teams. Now, they welcomed back their talismanic midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, who had missed the action in the first half of the season.
The creative midfielder marked his return in style after only featuring for 23 minutes in the season opener in August. Upon his return, in two substitute appearances, he has amassed three goal contributions in a total of 54 minutes of game time, boasting an impressive 18 minutes per goal involvement.
During his 21-minute cameo against Newcastle United, Kevin De Bruyne secured an impressive 8.2 match rating. In this outstanding performance, he generated three chances, made 35 touches, achieved a 77% passing accuracy, and played a crucial role in contributing to both scoring and assisting in staging a comeback.
Do you think Kevin De Bruyne’s absence was the main reason behind Manchester City’s poor performances in the last few games? Tell us in the comments!
