Crystal Palace vs Man City: Kevin De Bruyne ‘sees what other human beings do not’, hails Pep Guardiola
After a long a testing season filled with numerous injuries, De Bruyne is back at the level expected of his manager to kick Manchester City on when it matters most
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Your support makes all the difference.Pep Guardiola hailed Kevin De Bruyne’s recent form as “incredible” after another man-of-the-match performance.
De Bruyne got two assists for Manchester City in their 3-1 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, having been controversially rested for City’s Champions League defeat at Tottenham in midweek.
After a season ruined by injury he is now looking close to his best again, and this performance was arguably his best of the season. Even better than in the FA Cup semi-final win over Brighton and Hove Albion at Wembley last Saturday or in the Premier League win over Cardiff City the week before, when he scored from one outrageously tight angle.
Guardiola was full of praise for De Bruyne’s recent performances, and not just for his two assists here, but the leadership he showed throughout the game. When asked whether De Bruyne was looking close to his best, after a season ruined by knee and hamstring injuries, Guardiola said there was “no doubt about that”. “The last three or four games, he's been incredible the way he played,” Guardiola said. “We had missed him a lot.”
De Bruyne played a brilliant pass through to Raheem Sterling for City’s opener and Guardiola hailed his vision to see passes that other players cannot. “He has that ability and vision to see passes that the rest of human beings are not able to see,” he said. ”With him our pace, and our passes in front in the final third from his passing is incredible.”
Guardiola also pointed to the leadership De Bruyne showed in different situations on the pitch. And Guardiola pointed to his long periods of absence, with two knee injuries and one hamstring injury, that have kept De Bruyne off the pitch for much of this season.
“Today he was so committed, defending, winning duels, to be in that position. Of course, he is fresh mentally and his legs, too in that situation,” he said. “That is why, not just for the two assists that were so important, [but] for all the other situations that we needed, he is so important for us in winning the game.”
Guardiola also hailed how Sterling shrugged off one early bad miss to go on to score two goals, displaying the mark of his mental strength over the season. “Mentally in football sometimes you have to learn from golf, the most important action in our game is the next one,” he said.
“If you miss, you have to forget it and finish the next one. The pass from Kevin was outstanding, but the finish was incredible, really, really, really good. The second goal was more complicated too than the one he missed. Important is how you react in the situations. In a good and bad moment you have to be stable for the next one and the next one.”
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