GUARDIOLA BRANDS DE BRUYNE ‘UNIQUE’, AS HE MAKES RETURN BACK FROM INJURY
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By Sefiu Ajape
Following Kevin De Bruyne’s comeback to action in Manchester City’s FA Cup victory against Huddersfield, Pep Guardiola praised the Belgian playmaker as a “unique” talent.
The Belgian international entered the game in the 57th minute and assisted on a goal as the holders easily defeated second-tier underdogs Huddersfield 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
De Bruyne made his first appearance as a senior since he tore his hamstring against Burnley in August during City’s Premier League opener.
As the 32-year-old replaced Julian Alvarez, cries of “Oh, Kevin De Bruyne” reverberated across the stadium. City had already taken a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Phil Foden and Alvarez.
Ben Jackson’s own goal and another Foden effort gave Guardiola’s team more breathing room, and Jeremy Doku’s finish came off a clever lofted cross from De Bruyne.
“He played really good minutes,” said City manager Guardiola of De Bruyne.
“We thought it was better to play the second half than from the beginning when the game was tighter…It was really good and now, as I said before, he needs to accumulate training sessions and more training sessions, more than games. Still he is not ready for 90 minutes.”
The Spaniard added: “Kevin helps to win games and there are few (like him) in the world. We can play good football-wise but Kevin, (Erling) Haaland, Phil (Foden), Julian (Alvarez) — these guys win games.
“That’s why it’s so important to have him back. Kevin is exceptional; he is unique. He was a long time out with surgery. His first minutes, the quality of the assist for the Jeremy (Doku) goal — it’s really good to have him back.”
De Bruyne’s world-class quality will be a boost to City’s hopes of retaining the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup they won in their 2022/23 ‘treble’ season, with Guardiola hoping his squad will soon be back at full-strength with the return of several other senior players.
“What I want is to arrive in the second part of the season with everyone fit,” he said. “I want Erling back, Kevin back, Jeremy and John (Stones). When they are back, we have a team that can compete in different competitions until the end.”
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