Sometimes a player produces a performance that even the opposition have to acknowledge.
Ronaldo famously got a standing ovation a Old Trafford after scoring a hat-trick against Manchester United for Real Madrid, while Juventus fans hailed Cristiano Ronaldo for a similar feat in the Champions League a few years ago.
Manchester City have their fair share of players who are capable of producing jaw-dropping performances too.
Phil Foden is unplayable on his day, while Erling Haaland can do impossible things on a football pitch.
However, perhaps the biggest genius in the Man City team is Kevin De Bruyne.
De Bruyne announced he’s leaving Manchester City last week, and speaking on his podcast, Peter Crouch has paid tribute to the Belgian.
Peter Crouch’s tribute to Kevin De Bruyne
Crouch spoke about the time he watched De Bruyne work his magic against Stoke City.
Crouch was on the bench for Stoke that day, and he says that he actually accidentally gave De Bruyne a standing ovation when he came off, he was that good.
Indeed, Crouch says that, for a moment, he forgot where he was and he simply had to stand and applaud the £54m man for this showing.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I mean, listen, I think, I mean, I’ve seen it firsthand. I was on the bench at Stoke and I think I’ve talked about this before, where I remember Mark Hughes telling me that he wasn’t going to bring me on and I kind of relaxed a little bit there,” Crouch said.
“I was on the bench because we were getting pumped and he said, there’s no point in you coming on this. You’re not going to get on today. I was like, oh, no worries.
“Anyway, I was sitting down and I remember De Bruyne of just to have the game of his life. And as he came off at the end, he got substituted. I went to stand up and applaud, like, because you know when you’re on the bench, you’re kind of in the stand almost.
“And everyone around me would stand up and I kind of went to get up and applaud. And I went, oh, I’m on the bench for the other team. You know, I was like, it was just that good.
“I was just lost myself in the game and thought that was some performance.”
Kevin De Bruyne stats vs Stoke City in 2017
De Bruyne is a magician, and, on his day, you can’t help but watch and be in awe of his performances.
This game Crouch is talking about was one of those days.
Back in 2017, Manchester City beat Stoke 7-2, and while De Bruyne was only on the pitch for 66 minutes, he absolutely ran the show.
| Kevin De Bruyne stats vs Stoke, October 2017 | |
| Minutes | 66 |
| Assists | 2 |
| Key passes | 2 |
| Shots on target | 2 |
| Dribbles | 2 |
| Long balls | 6 |
| Through balls | 2 |
| Pass completion rate | 89% |
De Bruyne ran Stoke ragged that day, and it’s easy to see why Crouch was so caught up in this performance.
Whether you’re an opposition player or a rival fan, De Bruyne is just one of those players where, sometimes, you have to hold your hands up and admit you’ve just seen a true artist at work.
The Premier League will certainly miss De Bruyne when he leaves at the end of the season.
