Alan Shearer has now shared what he noticed Manchester City players do when Kevin De Bruyne came on against Newcastle.
The 53-year-old made the comments when speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast alongside Gary Lineker and Micah Richards.
So, what did Alan Shearer say about Kevin De Bruyne? Let’s take a look…
What Shearer said about De Bruyne
Well, the Newcastle legend was upset to see the Belgian tear his beloved Magpies apart on Saturday as Manchester City came from behind to win 3-2.
However, Shearer admitted that he could only applaud such greatness, while noticing that Manchester City players received a lift from De Bruyne’s introduction, and made sure to get the ball to him at every possible occasion.
The Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer said: “Sometimes you’ve just got to sit and applaud someone when they’re that good. It was 21 minutes of genius. The way he just come on and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. It was as if he’d never been away. You could see all his teammates think, here we go, look at him, just get the ball to him. He absolutely bossed it.
“The way he worked his goal, the way he found himself in space and then to do the keeper the way he did, putting it through the defender’s legs. Then that pass… I hate you Kevin De Bruyne!”
How De Bruyne performed in Newcastle 2-3 Manchester City
Everybody knows that De Bruyne shone with a goal and an assist on his return to Premier League action, but let’s delve into the statistics a little deeper.
As SofaScore shows, the Manchester City No.17 completed 17 of his attempted 22 passes with a success rate of 77% on Tyneside.
Three of those passes went down as “key” passes – while De Bruyne also won an aerial duel and completed one cross.
In total, the Belgium international received a match rating of 8.7 – which is remarkable when you consider the fact he only played 21 minutes.
If that is what De Bruyne – who also received praise from Lineker – can do with minimal match fitness in the tank, the Premier League should be shaking when he reaches 100% once again.
