Manchester City thumped Huddersfield Town 5-0 in the FA Cup third round – and fans finally got to witness Kevin De Bruyne playing football again.
City are in the pot for round four after a comfortable victory at the Etihad, with the brilliant Phil Foden probably the standout player on the day.
He got two goals, with Julian Alvarez continuing his fine form with another.
Oscar Bobb saw his cross deflect in, and Jeremy Doku – returning from injury – also got in on the act.
The man who set Doku up was none other than Kevin De Bruyne, whom City fans have been longing to see after his lengthy lay-off with a hamstring injury.
Not only did De Bruyne get decent minutes today, he also provided an assist in typically brilliant fashion – and after the game, Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the Belgian maestro.
Pep Guardiola lauds Kevin De Bruyne following successful return for Manchester City
De Bruyne came on for City against Huddersfield just before the hour mark, replacing Alvarez.
Most City fans weren’t expecting too much today from De Bruyne in his first game back after such a long lay-off, but the star actually didn’t show too many signs of ring rust.
He got on the ball a fair bit and put a few dangerous crosses from the right side.
The most dangerous of all came when he dinked it over to the back post for an unmarked Doku to score with a brilliantly controlled volley for City’s fifth goal.
Most players would have fired it low and hard towards the neat post. But then, De Bruyne isn’t like most other players, and had the vision and quality to find Doku.
Speaking after the game, a delighted Guardiola said (BBC Sport live, 4.25pm): “We are incredibly delighted to have him back because Kevin [de Bruyne] helps to win games. It is so important to have him back after a long injury.
“He will help us with his talent but I don’t want to put all the pressure on Kevin’s shoulders because it is not fair to him.
“Of course he has a special ability and quality to do something that is difficult to find. We have guys in midfield who love to run. Kevin is exceptional. He is unique.”
A serious positive for City
It cannot be overstated how big it is for City to have De Bruyne back.
Even though City are still mixing it with the teams at the top of the Premier League table and are through to the Champions League knockout stages, the team has missed him.
Guardiola is right, the star is ‘unique’. Sometimes this season, City have been missing that X-factor in games and De Bruyne is, more often than not, the man to provide the spark.
Pep has said that it will take time for De Bruyne to get back up to speed which is understandable. But he certainly looked sharp today on his comeback, which is hugely encouraging.
