Kevin De Bruyne laid on another assist for Manchester City at the weekend – and Ben Foster has noticed a really clever trait the Belgian has.
De Bruyne featured in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield, and it was a game that lived up to expectation for the neutrals.
City could only take a point in the end and the result was probably fair. Stefan Ortega – on for the injured Ederson – pulled off a few good saves to keep Pep Guardiola‘s side in the contest.
In the second-half, De Bruyne was taken off by Pep and replaced by Mateo Kovacic, which came as a real surprise. But the manager explained after the game that it was to help City gain more control.
It wasn’t De Bruyne’s best game, but he still made an impact – and Foster has talked up one specific thing he does…
Ben Foster impressed with the way Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne gives the impression he won’t do anything
It has often been said that De Bruyne is a footballing genius.
Without doubt, he’s one of the greatest midfielders ever to kick a ball, and he is capable of doing things on a pitch that no one else can do.
Sometimes, defenders can see things coming from De Bruyne, but they are powerless to do anything.
But other times, it doesn’t appear as though De Bruyne will do anything, before he then does something brilliant. It is as though he lulls the opposition into a false sense of security, and it’s something former Premier League goalkeeper Ben Foster reckons is actually really clever.
Speaking about De Bruyne’s assist for John Stones on Sunday, he said on his official YouTube channel: “You (Alexis Mac Allister) cannot let anybody move you out of the way. He wasn’t switched on quick enough. He let the ball get played in, he was just looking around really. When you’re that front post guy, you have to be good to go, straight away.
“Especially when Kevin De Bruyne is on the ball. De Bruyne, you know what he does? He looks like that (*making looking down gesture*) as if to say ‘I’m not doing anything, I’m not doing anything’ and then bang, it’s too late. That’s all it is, it’s minute details, but that’s the difference between a goal and not a goal.”
A sign of De Bruyne’s amazing footballing intelligence
It was a brilliant assist from De Bruyne on Sunday against Liverpool.
We have seen De Bruyne do this kind of thing before for City. Earlier this season, City faced Burnley at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League.
City had a free-kick around from quite far out, and De Bruyne was stood over it. Everyone in the stadium was expecting him to float one to the back post, but quick as a flash, he threaded a low ball through to Julian Alvarez who scored with a first-time finish.
It’s just another little thing that separates him from most other players, and a sign of his brilliant footballing intelligence. That ability to camouflage what he is actually going to do and then execute just makes him a special talent.
