Pep Guardiola is hoping Kevin De Bruyne has more performances like Wednesday night in future matches.
By Ivan Yeo
When you think of Manchester City, you think of Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, and second-year manager Pep Guardiola, whose Barcelona teams from 2009-2011 revolutionized the way the game was played.
However if Man City is to win its first major trophy since winning the Football League Cup in 2016, it must make full use of its deep roster. Players such as Yaya Toure, Raheem Sterling and Samir Nasri will be counted on, but on Wednesday night in front of 93,000 spectators at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against Real Madrid, Kevin De Bruyne showed that he himself might just be a crucial part of the Man City rotation this upcoming season. De Bruyne’s three assists and his ability to control the midfield were key in Man City’s 4-1 win over Real Madrid.
After a scoreless first half, Man City got on the board in the 52nd minute. De Bryune sent a corner inside the penalty area, John Stones sent a header right at keeper Francisco Casilla, who saved it, but he left a juicy rebound inside the six-yard box and Nicolas Otamendi swooped in and buried the shot into the upper net to give Man City the lead.
Turned out Man City in general and De Bruyne in particular were just getting started. Man City added its second goal in the 59th minute, De Bruyne received a short pass on the right side of the field deep in Real Madrid territory, played a perfectly weighted ball to Sterling, who had slipped in between two Madrid defenders to get behind their backline. Sterling waited a little bit before getting off a shot that beat Casilla into the back net. Man City added its third goal in the 67th minute, as De Bryune played a short pass to Stones inside the 18-yard box, Stones took at shot that appeared to be wide left, but it snuck inside the far post net to make a three goal game. Man City added a fourth goal late in the half to seal the win.
A minute after the third goal, De Bryune almost got on the score sheet himself, as he sent a free kick right at goal, only to see it hit off the near post. Still, that was not enough to dampen a spectacular night for the Belgian.
De Bruyne is certainly hoping this upcoming season will be better than the last two years at City. Since arriving at Man City prior to the 2015-2016 season from Wolfsburg, De Bruyne has feature 61 times and scored 10 goals. De Bruyne has been plagued by inconsistency in his play in his two years at Man City, but Wednesday’s performance against one of Europe’s giants might serve as a preview of better things to come for both De Bryune and Man City.
