Kevin De Bruyne admits he has been surprised by how well he has done since returning from injury… as the Man City star insists he ‘feels good’ and is ‘taking care’ of himself
- Kevin De Bruyne returned at the beginning of January after an absence of five months
- The Man City star shone on Tuesday, providing four assists against Luton
- Chelsea were cowardly to play for penalties. Liverpool have a case, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are soulless – Listen to the It all starts podcast
Kevin De Bruyne says he has surprised himself by returning so seamlessly from hamstring surgery and re-establishing his telepathic rapport with Erling Haaland.
De Bruyne assisted four of Haaland’s five goals in their FA Cup win over Luton, whose man-to-man strategy led to a nail-biting night at Kenilworth Road.
In a warning to Erik ten Hag and Manchester United ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash, City won 6-2 against that tactical approach, with 21-year-old Teden Mengi, the hapless defender, tasked with holding Haaland to bind.
The striker was unstoppable as he was fueled by the brilliant De Bruyne, who now has 12 assists despite missing six months of the season through injury.
One of Haaland’s five goals involved him holding up a long ball, passing it to De Bruyne, turning and sprinting forward without ever looking back – because he knew the assist was coming. Although it was a brave plan from Luton, it was ultimately undone by this deadliest of duos as they gratefully accepted the space they were given.
Kevin De Bruyne says he surprised himself by returning from hamstring surgery so seamlessly that Man City was able to restore their telepathic rapport with Erling Haaland.
De Bruyne assisted four of Haaland’s five goals in their 6-2 FA Cup win against Luton Town
De Bruyne told the media afterwards: ‘I wasn’t worried (about his hamstring injury) but I didn’t expect to come back like this, if I’m honest.
“It was one of those games where you get a lot of one-v-ones and there’s a lot of space. If you can find the right angles you will get many opportunities. We found a way to hurt them and Erling scored the goals, so it was good.
“When you play fast it is very difficult because they are in control, but once you understand how to hold the ball a little longer it becomes difficult for them and there is a lot of space. That’s the way they play. It’s hard, but we found a way.’
It was in January that De Bruyne returned to competitive football for the first time since August and he continued: ‘I feel good. Only against Brentford I was a bit tired and got a kick on my other hamstring. I wanted to make sure I didn’t run that risk, but I feel great and I hope to maintain that.
‘Normally I just keep playing, but that was mainly my downfall in the past. In a way, I try to take care of myself, but I also make decisions. Since I came back, my hamstring was great before the surgery, so I’m very happy with that. But I know if you don’t play for six months and come back, you’re going to have problems everywhere. it’s normal and it’s fine.’
De Bruyne suffered a hamstring injury in the first match of the season against Burnley in August
After winning the FA Cup, Pep Guardiola’s side have a season-defining March ahead of them
City have a season-defining March ahead of them: against United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, then Copenhagen in the Champions League, then Liverpool, Brighton, Arsenal and Aston Villa all in the Premier League. The FA Cup quarter-finals will also be played in mid-March and the draw will take place on Wednesday evening.
On the Manchester derby, De Bruyne added: ‘We are doing well and winning most of the games. It’s difficult because every opponent gives something different. Bournemouth and Luton play man-to-man and Copenhagen is tighter. It’s still a derby and I know they do well sometimes when they’re struggling and we’ll try to put in a good performance on Sunday.”
