De Bruyne’s Creative Magic Again Gives Man City The Edge!

I said at the start of the season that Kevin De Bruyne had the creative ability to lead Manchester City’s charge towards the Premier League title this season as long as he stays fit.

Even before Sadio Mane’s red card at the Etihad, the Belgian maestro had made a game changing difference with a defence splitting pass that saw Sergio Aguero latch onto the ball and give Man City the lead over Liverpool.

The game ended in a stunning 5-0 triumph for the Citizens.

Obviously the decision from Jonathan Moss to send off the Reds forward had an impact on the game but it was De Bruyne’s vision and craft that killed Liverpool off.

The international attacker always seems to float into space and is always looking for the ball.

His first assist was all about his ability to see things before they happen. Even before he had the ball at his feet he knew what was going to happen because he had already judged the situation and assessed were his forwards were. That meant he could quickly pass the ball forward, into the perfect position and with the weight of the ball excellently measured. The pass allowed Aguero time to make his mind up, take the ball around Simon Mignolet and finish the chance with ease.

It was reminiscent of Gabriel Jesus goal at Bournemouth, where David Silva found him with an excellent early pass.

Then in the aftermath of Mane’s red card, De Bruyne found himself with the ball out on the left and up against the young Trent Alexander-Arnold. The player-maker faints with a Cruyff turn and that gives him enough room to set himself up for a cross. The twenty-six year old ‘Tintin’ lookalike then crossed the ball with inch perfect accuracy with his right foot and Jesus nodded the ball home.

It’s funny because for the first twenty minutes Liverpool were better with the ball but couldn’t find that killer pass to create the opening goal. What they missed was a player like Kevin who can create something from anywhere on the pitch.

The attacking midfielder also had a hand in Leroy Sane’s first goal too. Starting the move off with a pass into the young German’s feet.

I like that the Belgian doesn’t always go for the easy pass, he first and foremost wants to create goals or at least play the ball forward.

You also have to appreciate the way he finds space. I can’t emphasise enough how hard it is to find yourself with room in the opposing team’s half. Yet, like Silva, De Bruyne seems to always find that yard or inch of space on the pitch that gives him a tiny bit more time to play the right ball. He’s helped by having a footballing brain and excellent movement. He sees what his teammates are doing and he’s also noticing where his opponents are going too. That allows him to head for the vacant areas.

A lot of the previews stated that Man City’s defence were a cause for concern. While they started the game nervously, especially Nicolas Otamendi, it was the the vision of Kevin De Bruyne that made us forget about City defensive frailties.

Of course the red card changed things within the game but De Bruyne had already created the first goal before that and we should highlight such great individual performances.

The gifted genius needs to dictate attacks as much as possible and if he can do that this term then Manchester City will be challenging seriously for the Premier League title and De Bruyne will be up for the major individual awards next year.

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