The one and only positive for Manchester City supporters from their 4-1 defeat against Sporting CP was that Kevin De Bruyne finally returned onto the pitch from injury.
De Bruyne came off the bench and played for six minutes against Ruben Amorim’s side.
Pep Guardiola revealed De Bruyne was fit to play against Bournemouth but due to the intense nature of the contest, he decided not to bring the midfield maestro on as a late substitute.
Manchester City fans were dissatisfied by Guardiola’s decision to bring De Bruyne off the bench as late as he did as there was not enough time on the clock for him to impact proceedings.
The 33-year-old will be hoping that he is deemed fit enough to start against Brighton & Hove Albion.
It could be argued that Manchester City did not miss De Bruyne against Sporting as their issues on Tuesday night were purely associated with their defence.
Kevin De Bruyne caught having an “exchange of opinions” with Man City coaches after Sporting defeat
The Sky Blues were carved open time and again in the second half in what seemed like a tactic Ruben Amorim had identified.
As a result, the Portuguese side seemed especially focused on hitting City on the break from the get-go.
Journalist Sam Lee revealed that in the aftermath of the contest, De Bruyne was spotted having an “exchange of opinions” with Manchester City’s coaches after his side got obliterated by Sporting.
With Manchester City losing three games in a row for the first time since April 2018, it is natural that as things stand, tensions are starting to build up within the camp purely due to the unprecedented standards they have set over the years.
Bernardo Silva stated Manchester City are “in a bit of a dark place” due to their recent form.
However, Pep Guardiola disagreed with Bernardo Silva’s assessment after Sporting’s win and felt they played well unlike during their 2-1 loss to Bournemouth where the Catalan labelled their showing as “really bad.”
Erling Haaland was spotted walking off into the tunnel straight after the game as well.
De Bruyne spoke his mind on Belgium’s tactical woes as well
Steve Nicol criticised De Bruyne after he spoke out against the way Domenico Tedesco set his Belgium side up after their 2-0 defeat to France in September.
The Manchester City legend said at the time: “We are too many at the back. If you stay with six at the back, there is no connection.”
De Bruyne’s comments were blunt but perhaps signified why Belgium were as ineffective as they were against France going forward.
While speaking to Manchester City’s coaches on Tuesday, De Bruyne perhaps purely wished to speak his mind as an experienced player.
The six-time Premier League winner’s comments will likely be appreciated by Pep Guardiola and his staff as he has taken the onus to communicate his issues with the team.
Being a serial winner and an incredibly intelligent player, De Bruyne’s input could even give City’s coaching staff a fresh perspective on what went wrong against Sporting.
