Jamie Carragher piles praise on Kevin de Bruyne after star performance as Man City beat Liverpool

Pundits have been quick to heap praise on Kevin de Bruyne’s back after another stellar performance for Manchester City on Thursday night.

The Belgian midfielder assisted twice as City beat champions Liverpool 3-2 in the Carabao Cup round of 16.

De Bruyne returned to his club after a poor World Cup campaign with Belgium, during which he caused controversy by insisting his team was “too old” to win the tournament, but appears to have returned to town with a vigour. renovated.

Pundits praised Kevin de Bruyne’s performance for Manchester City on Thursday night.

“I’m not surprised by what he showed, I felt he had something to prove,” Jamie Carragher began on Sky Sports’ coverage of Thursday night’s action.

“He has received great criticism in the aftermath of the World Cup, not only on the field but off it. When I saw the best moments I was not amazed, but I was amazed at what I was seeing in the World Cup. I could not believe what i was seeing.

“I think he’s been the best player in the Premier League for the last four or five years. I think he was well below his world-class standard with Belgium, no one is infallible. I think on some points, 99 per cent of players play better for their clubs than at international level.

Jamie Carragher believes the Belgian maestro has been the best player in the league for the last ‘four or five years’

“Very few players matched him, but he was still short of where he needed to be. He would have looked at him and said that he was not where he needed to be.

De Bruyne failed to inspire an aging Belgian golden generation to what would likely have been their last real chance to win a major international trophy in Qatar.

Rather than shine on football’s biggest stage, the likes of De Bruyne, Dries Mertens, Eden Hazard and Jan Vertonghen worked their way out of the group stage, beating only Canada in the competition.

City knocked Liverpool out of the Carabao Cup to set up a showdown with Southampton

But De Bruyne returned to club football with a bang on Thursday night, shining for his team and providing two assists for both Erling Haaland’s opener and Nathan Ake’s 58th-minute header.

“De Bruyne was the difference,” added Micah Richards. ‘Liverpool did well to stay in the game, but the quality showed at the end.

‘[De Bruyne] he is a ridiculous player. The World Cup did not work out for him but he has returned and he has taken the bite. I’m glad he’s back in good shape.

Micah Richards added that the 32-year-old appears to have returned with “the morsel between his teeth”.