Kevin De Bruyne Back In Action as Manchester City Set Sights On Another Treble

Many foolishly wrote off Manchester City as the awesome force they clearly are after they lost to an in-form Aston Villa side in early December. Their 1-0 loss at Villa Park saw Pep Guardiola’s side drop to fourth in the table, and this left the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal fans licking their lips, seemingly confident that the Etihad Stadium side were beginning to lose their firm grip on the numerous items of silverware that they held in their possession.

Needless to say, those pundits and fans were victims of their own wishful thinking. Guardiola has clearly made a point of getting his team back on track, and their push to retain the three crowns they won during their epic treble-winning success of 2022/23 is very much back on track, not least because of the return of arguably one of the most talented players of a generation.

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Belgian international playmaker Kevin De Bruyne has proven to be an inspired signing. Since arriving at Manchester City in August 2015, the attacking midfielder has won it all at the club and has put himself among the upper echelons when it comes to the conversation around the best players of the Premier League era.

Oh, I’ve missed this! What a team! 💙 pic.twitter.com/2ah1r3LZtQ

— Kevin De Bruyne (@KevinDeBruyne) January 13, 2024

What he has achieved as a player, especially in England, is perhaps all the more impressive given the less-than-glorious start he made in the country. De Bruyne was purchased by Chelsea in January 2012 after bursting onto the scene with Genk, but he failed to make the grade in West London and was harshly packed off to Germany, first on loan, before completing a permanent exit in January 2014.

Those who, at least at the time, felt that De Bruyne had failed to deliver the goods were perhaps guilty of something of a knee-jerk reaction. After all, we are talking about a young player who made a sum total of just 132 minutes of Premier League action for the Blues.

It’s also worth noting that during this period, Chelsea didn’t lose or concede a goal. He has gone on to make 360 appearances for Manchester City, scoring 97 goals in the process. The manner with which he returned from a lengthy injury layoff will have left City fans enraptured as to what is sure to come.

De Bruyne went off injured in the opening game of the season, suffering a severe hamstring injury that ruled him out for five months. With just over twenty minutes to play away at Newcastle United, with his side 2-1 down to the Magpies, Guardiola brought him on, and the way in which he eased back into top-flight action tells you all you need to know about the giant talent of the man.

Within five minutes, Kevin De Bruyne danced through the challenges before threading the needle with a superbly placed finish to level the fixture and then, with the clock ticking down, he provided a mouthwatering assist for youngster Oscar Bobb, who duly fired in the winner.

The relief around the set-up was palpable when the final whistle rang out, and frankly, the instant impact made by De Bruyne will have left all title challengers quaking their boots.